The Last Energybender
by Miniclift239
Summary: 4000 years before the end of the hundred year war, it was known that the world was not divided into four elements but five. Since then the last master of energy has vanished from all knowledge. Yet with the threat of the world's worst foe returning the White Lotus reach out to the last energybender to once again influence the Avatar Cycle
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Earth

Fire

Air

Water

Seventy years after the dawn of the avatar cycle and the imprisonment of the Dark spirit Vaatu the world was faced with another crisis that threatened to tear it apart. In the final hours, a spirit by the name of Chokin came to the Avatar's aid and turned the tide in the world's favour.

Since the day the two united, ushering in an era of balance. Chokin taking on the title Paladin, in reference to his guardianship of the Avatar of light. The two were equals, and allies in all things. Until one day he vanished, without a trace, the knowledge of his existence lost. Except to some people, whom may one day seek him again.

 **Book one: Violence**


	2. Prologue- The Ancient

**The Ancient**

 **A/N: Originally this wasn't the opening chapter, but looking back, my other opening chapter wasn't immediately engaging enough. And therefore, failed as the opening chapter, so here's my replacement. If you've already read the other chapters, you may want to consider this a flashback chapter for others this is chapter 1. The old chapter 1 is now chapter 2**

 **Master Kontrolla**

Leaders, what were they for? Was it to do the bare minimum, to keep to their tasks and out of everyone's business? Yet as people suffered while they have the power to help.

Was it to help people, did power not proceed to lead to responsibility? A demand to do more simply because you can do more? Or was this infringing on rights? These questions irked him, for one reason.

He wasn't worthy. He always knew he wasn't worthy from the moment the Dragon of the West offered his position to him he'd tried to refuse. The man was so wise, so strong and so kind while he was just an ordinary person. Yet the old man wouldn't hear of it much to his own dismay.

He could do the paperwork, he could manage things, but he didn't have his predecessor's wisdom. His speeches were clichés and by the books, he didn't have the charisma to do anything more. All of it made the decision seem even silly and foolhardy.

These were the questions that ran through him, as he watched the Avatar rest. Back from such a traumatic ordeal, she rested alone in the hospital, with only him watching her. She looked so calm and cute, snugly wrapped under the blanket. It was a miracle that she was saved. Kontrolla shuddered at the thought of how his watch had slipped, and those monsters had kidnapped her on his watch. If he'd just done his job properly, it would be her parents watching her instead of him. Since they were at the funeral, of a man who died atoning Kontrolla's failure. In the end he wasn't able to face that guilt, at the funeral.

The little Avatar was stirring, when she'd wake up she'd wake up to all the gifts that had been sent for her well-being. She was rubbing her eyes and blinking.

"Where's mommy?" she asked quietly.

"She'll be back soon little one" he comforted, a reassuring smile on his face "is something the matter?"

"My stomach hurts" she complained, pointing to her belly button "right here"

"Should I fetch a healer" he offered kindly.

"No I'm a big girl and don't need to go crying to a healer" she said defiantly, though he voice made her less than intimidating "and no bad dreams are going to persuade me otherwise"

"Bad dreams? Korra are you having bad dreams?" he asked, Korra looked guilty.

"No" said the child, squirming guiltily.

"Korra it's better to talk about our problems or else they'll throw us out of balance" he said, wisely.

"Don't tell mommy" she begged.

"Of course not" he said, it was a half-truth, he'd wouldn't keep something important from her parents, but neither would he betray the little Avatar's trust over something trivial.

"When I sleep I hear voices, they're scary. Bad ones, one said something about revenge. It wanted revenge, and I'll be helping them get it" she said, eyes to her feet "I'm scared Master"

His comforting smile did not slip, it however became hollow and fake "they're just dreams Korra, they're not real"

She nodded and started to fall back asleep. When she rested he walked away, then ran away breathing heavily. His order, his oath, his life all had been dedicated to preventing what could be coming. The Second Diyu.

The signs were there, and the Avatar was key for its return. Maybe, maybe she could live and the world survive in spite of it. But 'maybe' wasn't good enough, the Mogui and the Avatar were linked and her death would sever it. Preventing it for certain.

He looked back into the room, she was fast asleep. Good, he tiptoed back in, pulling up a knife from his boot, and held it over her. And froze.

He couldn't do it, not when there was a small chance that both the girl and the world could both survive. Even if the Avatar and the Mogui were linked, and one could not exist without the other. He could not bear to bring the knife down on the poor child.

He threw the knife away, disgusted by what could have happened, afraid of some sort of misunderstanding. He sunk to the ground, hands wrapped around his knees.

What now? If he failed… he didn't want to think about it. It was awful, it couldn't be worse. Nobody knew about the Mogui, it had been shoved into the realm of myth for everybody's sake. Well no one but the White Lotus.

He didn't know how or in what form it would return. He knew he was being stupid, there was only one way to truly stop it… but he couldn't do it. Couldn't face the people she'd loved and explained his actions. Worse, his oath demanded that he remained silent, he wouldn't even be able to defend his actions.

…

…

…

They'd beaten it last time. It was awful, thousands of years ago and civilisation still had scars from the war, but they had won, or rather he had won. Kontrolla got up, leaving the Avatar behind in the room. He'd need to find that person, whom had won last time, he'd know what to do, he hoped.

He hesitated, he was overreacting. No these must be bad dreams, for thousands of years they'd been fine. It would have been awful if Korra had died because he was paranoid. No the best thing to do is wait and watch, the Mogui could return if she were out of balance. Corrupted by poor spirit and from becoming out of balance. He would watch for signs, to ensure nothing happened.

 **14 Years Later- Master Kontrolla**

"Korra that is enough" Kontrolla stated firmly. She was being far too extreme in her firebending. The test was about precision, she was meant to have light a very small lamp from several feet away.

"Well I did light the lamp" she pointed out, which was true it was certainly alight.

"And half of the compound" he further pointed out.

She merely shrugged "So?"

Kontrolla threw his fists into the air "You can't just unleash a firestorm everywhere you go"

"Well why not?" she demanded.

"Do you have any concern at all for the power of the Avatar?" he demanded.

"Of course not. Why would I be afraid of it?" she asked "I'm going to make the world a better place, there's no reason to be scared of that"

Kontrolla couldn't really answer that question, but it worried him greatly. "Just do 40 hotsquats for now"

She groaned but immediately started squatting. Until suddenly she collapsed to the ground.

"Korra is ever-"

" **Where is he? The one before? The one who must die, I see not him… but he will come back"** she murmured on the ground. Face shadowed, Kontrolla dived in to help.

" **My revenge is nigh, but not… not yet"** suddenly she feinted into his arms, when she woke she couldn't remember anything.

The next day Kontrolla was packing, inside was winter clothes for his pilgrimage to get help.

"Where are you going?" asked Korra, appearing at the doorway.

"The spirit world, somewhere you've never been" he said tersely.

"Right before my firebending exam?" she asked.

"Hopefully I'll be back in time for that" he said tersely.

"Why are you headed there?" she asked, he closed his eyes. He had to lie and make it believable.

"I have been summoned by a spirit, I must find him" he answered, deliberately vague.

"Right now?" she queried.

"Yes" he said firmly leaving. Without another goodbye he walked out of the room. He walked to the gates of the compound and left without another word, having already explained it to his brothers. Or at least half of it, he told them whom he was seeking, but not why.

He headed into the blizzard, arms covering his eyes, his skin numb in the face of the cold. His eyes were like blisters, as he hiked for miles South. Time lost its meaning, and he continued through the night. He knew where he was going to make the crossing into the spirit world, at the iceberg where Avatar Aang once slept for a hundred years.

He did not know how long it had took but he did find it. He also didn't know how he'd found it or how he knew it was different than the thousands of identical icebergs he'd seen but he knew as he approached that this was the one he needed.

He stripped of his coat, scarf and everything but a thin clothe of linen, exposing himself to the cold and the elements. With the bitter cold and his body feeling like it was about to fall apart, he sat in the lotus position. His legs was crossed as he pressed his fingers together, his eyes closed.

Transporting to the spirit world was not like, as many thought, a simple flip of the world. There were no equivalent planes of existence, rather you focused on where you wanted to go in the plane and that was where you arrived. This spirit had told them where he would stay, and it was there that he focused on.

Breathing was key, ignore the elements, ignore the body and let your spirit be free.

…

…

Warmth, he suddenly felt warm. Which could mean one of two things, he was about to freeze to death or it had worked.

His eyes opened to a realm dazzling in light. The skies themselves were pale green as the light radiated not from a sun but from the sky itself. He stood in grasslands greener than any he'd ever seen on Earth and stretched further than one could ever possibly travel. And trees that radiated with such health and life sprung around everywhere.

"A human? What are you doing here?" demanded a spirit from behind him. It was like a monkey-lemur only humanoid.

"Hello kind spirit" he said bowing respectfully. The spirit pouted in response. "I happen to be looking for one of you"

"What could a mere human want with a spirit?" demanded the spirit.

"I have reason to believe that…" he gulped deeply "that there may be another Mogui"

The spirit glared down at him "I have no idea what that is"

"Oh I'm sorry, I had thought that spirits were infinitely wise" he said, then realised that may not have been the best choice of words.

"Oh, so if you think I am an idiot" shouted the spirit.

"My apologies is was a poor choice of words, if you could please just point to meet the Paladin" he asked bowing his head again in apology.

"THE WHAT?" shouted the spirit with murderous rage.

"His name's Chokin, he's the spirit of progress, an-"he blubbered quickly.

"I know who he is, and if you're his friend" he threatened, his arm shifting into a blade. Similar spirits to him started to climb down trees, all with a murderous rage on their "then you will die"

They lunged he tried to bend, only to fail miserably. He ducked only for another creature to tear at his shoulders forcing him down into the dirt. Its arm pulled back merging into a claw, ready to tear him apart.

Suddenly a wave of silver light pulsed through the air, throwing the everyone back. Some sprouted wings and flew away while others stayed.

"YOU" one roared. Screaming towards a figure of pure silver, pure rage in his voice.

The light dissipated, revealing an small, blue and black spirit. He hands glowed pure silver. "YES. ME… why are we talking like this?"

"I know you, you're a traitor" spat the spirit, charging towards the figure, only to be turned around. And for his arm to be forced behind his back by the figure.

"You clearly don't know me very well, you're fighting me. **You must be a special kind of stupid"** immediately the spirit was thrown forward. And the figure, simply floated towards Kontrolla, offering a hand.

Up close the figure was more easily defined, it looked similar to the blue spirit from the old play. But far less freakish, with no fangs and eyes that shone with flames brighter than many firebenders.

Before he could grasp the hand. The spirit charged at the figure again. At this the figure looked irritated "Sorry Human, Trad's an idiot"

"Trad his name's Trad?" questioned Kontrolla getting up.

"NO it-"shouted the spirit.

"It is now, Trad is far more accurate" said the figure, a cocky smile of his lips.

The spirit now charged in anger, claws outstretched, ready to kill, in response the figure shone silver once more **"This has stopped being fun"**

Circles of light wrapped its way around the spirit **"We have no quarrel, therefore this conflict is unnecessary. I end it"** A explosion of silver burst and the spirit was flung beyond the eye could see.

"Huh… I'm off my game… only forty kilometres" the figure murmured, squinting at the target, then he looked to Kontrolla "Don't look at me like that, he's a spirit. The only thing I hurt was his pride… and some bones that'll heal in two minutes"

"It's you" he gasped.

"Yes me. You must be a skilled acolyte to have made it to the spirit world… you would have made a remarkable paladin" answered the figure.

"What? I'm not an acylote" he replied confused, now getting up.

"Your clothes indicate otherwise. Then again you appear as you perceive yourself, do you perceive yourself as a mere student" he asked shrewdly.

"I… I don't want to talk it" he answered honestly.

The figure nodded giving a Kontrolla a hand, he took it, but only onto one knee.

"Master Chokinate, Lord of Progress. It's an honour to meet you… Founder of the White Lotus" he greeted.

"Call me Chokin and don't bother with the titles, they are prestige I don't deserve… wait did you call me Lord?" he replied.

"I'm sorry Master" he answered, still on bent knee.

"Don't worry about it, it's a relief to finally meet a human here. I guarantee that you can't be anymore brain-dead than the rest of the spirits" he said, forcibly pulling Kontrolla onto his own feet "now what is it you wanted to talk about" he asked beaming.

"I'm not here for a social visit master. I fear all of humanity is in danger, the new Avatar suffers at the hand of the Mogui" he explained, darkly.

"Every Avatar has fought the Mogui, they simply do not realise they are fighting it" explained Chokin his beam gone.

"She was possessed master, she hears it in her dreams" he explained to him as Chokin turned away.

"This is… This new Avatar… what's she like? Could she resist it?" asked Chokin confused.

"She is headstrong, brash and impulsive. She seems to love being the Avatar and embraces her destiny to a dangerous degree. She lacks restraint or thought in her actions and is naturally disruptive to her elders" he explained, worry evident in his voice.

"She likes being the Avatar?" asked Chokin, his tone unreadable.

"Yes" he answered simply.

The spirit sighed, looking to the horizons, everything was still for a few long moments "I have guided a thousand Avatars, they were each so strong, kind and brave. Each in their own way, but never have I seen one embrace that destiny. They all were forced."

…

…

…

"There is something I must do. Also, I have met spirits over time, brave enough to approach me. They gave me things to return to Humans. Let me gather them… then I'll meet this new Avatar." explained Chokin.

"Master if she cannot resist the Mogui, What do we do?" begged Kontrolla. He did not receive a response.

 **A/N: Here's my updated opening chapter, for anyone just starting reading then bear in mind that chapters 2-15 were written before this chapter.**

 **I love followers, favourites and reviews so if you are enjoying it always leave them.**


	3. The Spirit Guide

**The Friend's Return**

 **A/N: In this story the White Lotus decide to summon a spirt guide in order to help guide Korra through her trials. Only this spirt appears to have a few secrets of his own.**

 **Master Kontrola- Southern Water Tribe**

He stood, watching the Avatar's final firebending trial, she was facing three of the top students from the firebending academy. In the test, she was limited to the single firebending element. Despite all these unfair numbers she showed little strain or pressure as she easily took down the superior firebenders. This had scared him., she was too good.

To his right was a spirit, humanoid in form. His skin was black with blue patterns, his legs forming in an unnatural shape for a human, especially as this spirit gazed upon the exam, not from behind the barricade but rather sprawled across, clinging to the front of the tower, at risk of falling. His form was stretchy and elastic.

"She's definitely impressive" the spirit stated interested. His voice determined and youthful, but also holding hints of a sage like feel.

"She lacks restraint" he retorted, making his concerns clear.

"That's easier to teach than endurance" the spirit replied, causing Kontrola to consider. He hadn't thought about that, only complained at her faults.

The trial was over and Korra was now jumping excited. He heard applause coming from his spirit friend. While he was gazing at the spirit lethally for encouraging this sort of behaviour, the spirit flipped back onto the solid wooden floor.

The spirit shrugged, "she passed, I was merely congratulating her".

"She hasn't passed yet" he grumbled, even though it was clear to all that she had. His spirit friend simply shook his head apologetically. Up close the spirit's face is clear, it was almost identical to the blue spirit from the old play, only with two distinct differences. The first was that rather than fangs, this spirit had a relatively normal set of teeth, and a mouth that was more normal than creepy, the second were his eyes which held a warm like spark like quality to them.

"Yes finally" came a cheer in the distance, it sounded an awful lot like the Avatar's.

"It appears our Avatar just passed her firebending exam, three down, one to go" the spirit said, cheerfully

"You might as well get it out of the way" he said dejectedly, expecting some sort of reprimand for dragging him here.

The spirit stretched his limbs "you know, it might be time for me to come back from retirement" he said. Causing Kontrola to take a double take.

"Don't you remember what happened last time" he begged, urging him to reconsider.

"I… I can't change the past… but did you forget what happened the last time I sat idle" he said, his voice a deadly dark.

"You can't blame yourself for the war" he almost shouted. What an idiot, he couldn't honestly be blaming himself could he?

"No, but it was within my power to stop" he explained, darkly "besides I'm bored, there's nothing to do in the spirit world"

With that he climbed down the tower head first, what had he got the world into?

 **Avatar Korra- South Pole**

"Naga" she shouted, excitedly running up to her pet, whom stretched her huge paws out, and looked up at her lazily, "I passed, Tenzin'll be here in a couple days" she joyous said, patting Naga on her mouth, seeing her soft black eyes gazing into hers. She was so excited, she'd never airbended before, and she loved learning new fighting styles. She couldn't wait to get into a real fight, there weren't many who could actually stand up to her in a fight.

She patted her softly on her mouth again, "You poor girl, you've been cooped up here all day haven't you" she cooed. She jumped to grab one of the saddles and threw it over Naga's back. She then crouched down tightening the restraints. She then patted Naga gently on the side and climbed onto her side. Naga then proceeded to prod towards the gate.

"Just taking Naga out for a stroll" she said, the guard looked sceptical.

She pouted "don't worry I'm not going anywhere". The guard looked over his shoulder, sighed and then proceeded to open the gate to the great white tundra.

 **One week later Katarra**

"Nice night for an escape isn't it" she chided. Tenzin had come and gone, without his willingness to either teach Korra here nor bring her back to Republic City. Korra then of course proceeded to do the only sensible thing. The thing she was doing right now.

Korra jerked when she found that she was there, "I have to leave, I have to find my own path as the Avatar".

Katarra continued to smile warmly, and gave a slight nod of the head, "I know you do"

When Korra gave a small smile, she continued "Aang's time has passed, my brother and many of my friends are gone, it's time for you and your generation to take on the responsibility of keeping peace and balance in the world." Placing a comforting hand on Korra's shoulder "and I think you're going to be a great Avatar"

Korra smiled softly and warming eventually approaching her for a hug "goodbye Korra"

Korra slowly edged herself away and climbed onto Naga's back, the two then proceeded to gallop away on Naga's back. She began to walk back home, already missing her, when she stopped at the figure. A spirit approached her, she stopped confused.

"Where should I expect to find her running off to?" he asked, it didn't take a genius who 'her' referred to.

She shook her head warmly, "do you intend to stop her"

He smiled, "on the contrary I'm hoping to help her, and I agree the White Lotus aren't exactly in the right state of mind"

Katarra wasn't a naturally suspicious person, but these were suspicious circumstances, "Is that so?"

The spirit surprisingly did not react to that and simply started to rummage into his bag. It looked extremely old and made of hemp rather than modern materials. After a few moments, he pulled out a long-sheathed sword out of this.

"Your name is Katarra correct" asked the spirit, she nodded "A spirit, or a panda, I get them mixed up, gave me this, he said to pass it on to either you, a guy called Aang or a guy called Sokka"

The spirit then pulled the sheath off, revealing a blade of no common metal. She gasped and placed a hand on it, with tears in her eyes.

"This was the sword my brother wielded" she said, hugging it closely.

"I overheard you saying he was gone, I'm sorry" said the spirt, his voice slightly more serious.

She nodded, "you wanted to know how the Avatar's getting to Republic City" she asked. He nodded. "There's a ship leaving the docks tomorrow, she'll be on that one".

"Thank you" said the spirit leaving her with space sword as he departed.

 **3 Hours Later- Korra**

"What do you think Republic City will be like Naga, you think it'll be sunny all year, do you really think they'll be no snow most of the year?" she asked, making random questions.

"I hope not, it's too cold like in the South" said a voice coming from in front of her.

"GAAH" she shouted.

"GAHH" came the voice, "don't do that, it scared the living daylights out of me"

Looking up she saw a spirit; this spirit was a blue but with black patterns around his body. He, or at least she assumed it was a he, was mostly humanoid but with backward knees, and three fingers and toes as opposed to five.

"Who are you" she asked preparing a flame in case he was hostile.

"That's a bit harsh, I only wanted to play you at Pai Sho" he said gesturing at a board that she could have sworn was not there before. She released her flame, but refused to let him take her by surprise.

"I'm going to take that as a yes" said the spirit, pushing a single white lotus piece into the centre of the board. Which just so happened to be the first move white lotus members did when attempting to identify each other. Does this mean?

"You seem surprised, do I have to teach you the rules of the game?" asked the spirit, concerned.

"What, no… it's just a strange move" she replied, which was true, the move would always put a player at a disadvantage for the rest of an ordinary game.

"Those who use it can always find a friend" answered the spirit. Another phase of the passphrase. This was beyond coincidence, but she decided to play the whole sequence out. Which consisted of placing their Pai Sho pieces in the shape of a lotus, and that was how the game played out.

"You're a member of the white lotus?" she asked, she didn't think there were any spirits in the white lotus.

"Of course, I've simply been in retirement for a few centuries" said the spirit, seeming unconcerned as to his casual disregard for the length of centuries "my name is Chokinate but call be Chokin".

"Korra" she answered, she had to admit she was now curious, "what's a spirit doing on a ship to Republic City?"

"I'm a Spirit Paladin, or guide I guess… I'm not sure what I am right now, case in point I'm here to help the Avatar on their quest to restoring balance" he explained, her eyes rounded.

"Nobody told me that I was getting a spirit guide, do you have any advice?" she asked, she always loved talking about her destiny and her future.

"Well at least I finally got the right woman, you know what they say third time lucky" replied Chokin cheerfully. Did he speak to two other stowaways before her? How many stowaways are on this vessel? "but you wanted some advice correct?"

She nodded excitedly, Chokin looked slightly grim before answering"well here's your first lesson, nobody voted for you".

"Errr, I not getting you" she said, confused as to what he was talking about.

Chokin smiled, "I didn't expect you to, basically what I am saying is that no one chose for you to be the Avatar. As the Avatar it's your job to maintain balance in the world but so many will be afraid of how you will do that, how you would mediate a conflict, what side you pick. History shows that the avatar is so often on the winning side, that when they work against them it means doom for many. There will be some that hate you for it, you have to understand them"

Korra was for the first time in her life, scared. She had always associated the Avatar as a simple kick-ass warrior, she'd never really considered life from any other angle. "I..I"

Chokin looked sympathetic "I know, it's hard, but I'm here to help"

 **A/N: If you're re-reading this chapter than I edited it as the word spirit was misspelt spirt. It was annoying me to death**


	4. A Different World

**A Different World**

 **A/N: I cannot believe I could not spell spirit in the last chapter, I 'll be correcting that from now on. As is usually the case love favourite and followers but beyond all I LOVE reviews.**

 **Avatar Korra- FIS Tuttleduck**

"Wait this is the name of the ship? Who names a ship the Turtleduck?!" asked Chokin, screaming his head off at the idiocy. Currently this was perceived as more idiotic than climbing down the side of the ship, as they passed highly icy waters with no kind of rope.

"I imagine they're of the same mind as someone who was stupid enough to climb down the side of a ship in the middle of the ocean" shouted Korra, "come back up"

"And why did they name it FIS? That's not even a word" came the angry reply.

"It stands for Future Industries Ship" she yelled back "now seriously get back here". An arm extended to the top of the ship, it appeared Chokin was capable of extending his limbs. Chokin was using his limb to abseil up the side of the ship, if that was even possible or the correct term.

"ahh, F for future, I for Industries and S for ship, makes perfect sense for someone too lazy to write the actual name" replied Chokin, he trended the line between joke and condescending in a very grey toned.

"I'm still not sure the stowaways should be on the top deck" replied Korra, noticing the odd stares they were getting from the other crew members.

"Don't worry I talked to the captain, I'm 60% certain we're fine. Just say you're the Avatar, works every time" explained Chokin, though he didn't seem quite so confident.

It was over Chokin's shoulder that she noticed something incredible, that made her jaw drop "look at that, I've only seen sketches of those"

Chokin turned at watched in admiration as the ship sailed past a mountain range that grew beyond sight, and stretched in every direction with tides bashing against its white stone sides and exploding in raindrops over the deck.

"You know I don't think I've heard about those before" replied Chokin.

"Really, I mean they're pretty much in the centre of the world" replied Korra with admiration.

"Korra have you ever seen a map? there are no oceans in the middle of the world" replied Chokin with a tone of voice as if explaining the colour of the sky.

"Yes, there are, there's always been" explained Korra.

"Look rather than get into a pointless argument let's just find a map" suggested Chokin stretching his elastic limbs.

"I brought one with me in my bag" she said rushing back to her den where she left Naga and her luggage, which consisted of only a few identical outfits and her pyjamas as well as a map. Pulling it out she saw that Chokin puffing to keep up with her as he came to catch up.

"Here" she said rolling the map of the four nations and the very clear oceans parting them "aha see"

Chokin looked sceptical, then confused, then his face adopted realization and then shock.

"Something has changed" murmured Chokin "it wasn't like that before". He slumped to the ground.

"Korra this Republic City, what's it like?" asked Chokin between breathes.

"I don't know, I've never been there, I heard it was filled with Satomobiles and there were buildings as far as you can see" answered Korra, simply relaying rumours, "I've heard there aren't many plants or animals there though"

"Sounds like heaven, but that wasn't what I was asking. Are they powerful? How does their government work? What do they stand for?" pressed Chokin, all of which would seem like simple answers but she had never bothered to find out. Not that she didn't care, but rather that all her life had been focused on bending and fighting. She had always known her destiny was intertwined by these elements.

"Errm, well it's basically a place where all the four nations work together to make it work" she answered, only now did she realise how little she knew about the world.

"What four nations?" asked the spirit, confused. Which led Korra to look at him like he was an idiot

"THE Four nations, you know the Fire, Water, Earth and Air" she said, then she remembered how he was in the spirit for so long "how long were you in the spirit world for?"

Chokin closed his eyes, considering his answer "It can't have been more than 4000 years, or else they'd have been a harmonic convergence. How long has it been since the start of the Avatar cycle?"

This confused Korra, "there's always been an Avatar Cycle, it didn't have a beginning" to which Chokin close his eyes.

"I suppose I'll have to go to the library when we get there" replied Chokin cheerfully yet somehow with a tone that portrayed closure to this particular subject.

"Well if we just passed the Mountains of Shibing, then it shouldn't take more than a week" she said pointing to the map and tracing an outline. Assuming that her father knew anything about how long it took to get anywhere. She didn't believe he ever left the Southern Water Tribe.

 **One Week Later**

"Thanks for the ride" waved Chokin to the awkward sailors as he started to jump off the ramp. Korra then plopped forward behind him on Naga, she gazed at the skyline.

"Woah, I've never seen so many Satomobiles" she remarked at the massive gridlock within the city. Back home she had only seen a handful of satomobiles and only for the high-ranking people back home.

As she gazed across the ship filled sea, her eyes came upon the statue of Aang. She paused for a moment in contemplation, as if some invisible force of comfort had washed over her.

She turned towards Chokin who two stared in contemplation upon the city. She thought she could hear a faint murmur along the lines of "what place do I have here anymore".

"What was that?" she asked sure she misheard him.

"Where are we headed?" came a louder, clearer version and she chose to overlook the previous interpretation.

"Over there" she said, pointing towards Air Temple Island, over the sea, then pulling Naga's reigns back she said "Want a ride?"

Chokin nervously approached Naga, only for Naga to uncharacteristically roar at him.

"NAGA" she yelled sternly pulling back on the reigns. Confused given her normally gentle attitude that had suddenly gotten so hostile "what's gotten into you?"

"It's not her, it's me" came a dejected voice. Chokin had pulled back out of her radius, "all animals are like that around me"

"Why?" she asked, confused and slightly concerned at the self-dejecting tone at which he spoke.

"I have a few theories but nothing more than that" was his only reply. The brightening up he cheered "still we're here and off that infernal boat… now what's the quickest way back, back on the boat?"

"What but we just got hereeee!" she yelled as Naga suddenly went running off in a random direction.

"KORRA" came Chokin's voice as he tried to keep up with her rampaging polar bear dog charged through the city with Korra yelling apologies to anyone who will listen.

"NO NAGA" she yelled finally just as Naga was about to leap and gobble all of the food. Behind them Chokin rushed up to her.

"You know you could have slowed down a bit" he puffed.

"Sorry, Naga here just gets really excited when she smells food" she explained, embarrassed.

"Well can you actually pay for this or are we supposed to become beggars" he asked, and at the sudden change in Korra's face he continued "I thought not, we're going to have to mooch off your airbending teacher"

She laughed at that "When you put it like that you make it sound like that's how I lived my life". Chokin didn't reply, but beyond Korra's knowledge he questioned "isn't it"

"We do need to get to Airbender Island before sundown" she said looking at the sun as it appeared to be in the mid-afternoon. Only for a shout to pierce the streets.

"Gang War…" murmured Chokin looking to the source of the noise, his face adopting a new found look of seriousness and order, "Korra block off any escape with Earthbending, I'll ensure none of them are killed"

"Why would we care if gang members are killed?" she asked confused, but complying none the less bringing up an Earth barricade along this street.

"Because their children are innocent and did nothing worth losing a father" he explained, running off towards the noise. She made of building more barricades to corner the criminals.

 **Lightning Bolt Zolt- Republic City**

Behind him stood around 15 of his best grunts stood against the Agni Kai Triads. The leading member of the twenty gangs was Flaming Fist, Fist may have numbers but he had variety. All of Fist's idiots were firebenders, he had water and earth on his side.

"So how many of you ash-heads singed yourselves getting up this money, or is that how you normally look?" he jeered, causing the stupider idiots to turn as red as their flames.

"Dirt men and Water savages like you, should return to the mud like the pigs you are" replied Fist, his hands stretching out into a flame. A savage smile erupted on his face, one that Zolt returned, drawing up lightning with his fingers.

But neither one of the two elements clashed, as at that moment Zolt felt something hard kick in his stomach, throwing him into his gang. Outraged, he snatched himself out of his grunts that had caught him and stared at his attacker.

It was some sort of blue and black freak, who now wore an arrogantly smug smile. It was standing between the two gangs thinking it was some sort of hero.

"hmm, could have sworn there was a turf war going on, but all I see is a couple of children playing fight club, can I play too?" it said with mock sincerity.

"Get out of here kid, until I get angry" threatened Fist, he was always soft enough for a warning. But Zolt was the never patient sort, and simply blasted it with lightning, or he would have if his shot wasn't blocked by an erected pillar of stone.

"Glad you could make it Korra" greeted the Freak, a warm smile on its face. As a Dirt girl in a water savage get up rode in on a polar bear dog. It was a strange day it seemed.

"I wouldn't miss it, especially now no one's escaping" she said with a grin.

"Take down the Earthbenders first" said the Freak, as the Water savage threw a burst of fire at his men, despite being an Earth bender.

"W-What's going on?" he stammered as his Earth benders were dispatched by the girl, who used three different elements to easily dispatch his men yet he had no time to think on the issue for he received a sudden blow to the stomach and some sort of arm twisting around his arm and pulling him down into the mud.

Fire soared, was blocked and Fist soon found himself face down in the mud with him.

"So how did you end in this mess?" came his muffled voice to which Zolt just grunted in reply.

 **Avatar Korra**

Her water whip hit the next thug in the forehead, throwing him towards his friend as they tumbled into a trash can. A arm found its way around her neck, but she tipped the thug over her head and into the ground.

Several more thugs still hadn't got the point as they charged at her, only for Chokin to wrap his extended arms around the leftmost thug and slammed him into the others whom crumbled against one of her stone walls.

"That's seven I got" boasted Chokin, Korra smiled right back at him.

"Well I got the rest" answered Korra looking towards the other thugs grounded on the ground.

"Touche" replied Chokin, with a smile on his face.

Cables now plunged into the ground taking the two by surprise.

"Wow, metalbenders" she awed as the police officers seamlessly glided down to apprehend the criminals.

"I thought that was impossible" questioned Chokin, awe still etched on his face.

She didn't find this strange if he hadn't been here for a few centauries he couldn't have known, "it is pretty recent I guess"

The police officer seemed stern, and unimpressed "Arrest them" he ordered pointing towards the thugs, cables wrapped around the thugs, then he pointed to the two of them "Arrest them too".

"Wait, what did I do?" she demanded, disgusted at the injustice.

"It appears there's a law against vigilantism and the Avatar isn't exempt" answered Chokin, "or maybe you are I don't know. I say we turn ourselves in and explain ourselves. I'm sure the chief is a reasonable person"

 **Korra- Police Station**

The Chief was not a reasonable women. That much was obvious.

"The two of you are accused of vigilantism, assault and traffic obstruction" she said firmly, with clear suspicion in her voice.

"Well is the Avatar not allowed to do her job?" asked Chokin confused.

"If you think we'll just let her do whatever she wants then you've got another thing coming. Freak" she spat the last word like a curse.

Korra swelled with anger standing up and slamming the table, until Chokin answered softly "Korra it's fine, in fact I take it as a compliment".

She turned and faced him with a look of outrage but stopped at the face she saw. He didn't look angry, nor impassive but his face was one of self-loathing.

"But" she shot, but Chokin looked her direct in the eye and said with complete conviction "I'd rather be a freak than a spirit, so please drop it"

A beat passed then she slowly fell back in the chair, the officer seemed confused, just for a second, with the utmost slightest possibility of a sign of pity. Though she most likely imagined it, it wasn't present when she looked at her again.

"Well I demand to see the law on vigilantism" demanded Chokin, becoming far more energetic on the turn of a coin, "I'm pretty sure there's I have a right about that somewhere"

The officer's face scrunched up in anger, and begrudgingly slipped a copy of the law onto the table. Chokin looked at it, "it says right here and I quote ' _The Avatar may engage potential criminals along with the Avatar's team without scrutiny from the law'"_ he read, with a slightly smug smile on his face. The officer's face twisted into one of anger at the humiliation.

Chokin meanwhile jumped to his feet excitedly, clapping his hands together.

"Well it's been lovely having a tour of this place but we must be going" he said shaking the officer's hand excitedly "Come on Korra we still need to find your airbending teacher"

The two of them marched out the room but not before she saw the officer point two fingers to her eyes and then flicked them towards Korra. Korra returned the gesture, not knowing what it meant but recognising the hostile intent.

"I can't believe that women arresting us like that. Why would she do that?" she complained loudly at the injustice of it.

"Because she's a tough, mean cop who doesn't play by the rules. You know like those heroes you Humans seem to love" answered Chokin, with a trace of sarcasm.

"But why would she arrest me for doing my job" she further complained at the outrage.

"Well can you think of a reason why?" asked Chokin, he clearly was referencing something they were talking about earlier.

Thinking back, she remembered their conversation on the boat "She doesn't want me to be Avatar" she answered sadly.

"Exactly, they don't understand why they don't get a choice. But don't blame yourself, just try and understand" replied Chokin with a slight expression of pity, "Now where will we find an airbending teacher"

"Air Temple Island" she answered, it was the only place for an airbending teacher. As Chokin lead them towards the channel, Korra was lost in thought, she had hoped things would be simple. That they'd be bad guys whom would simply be foes for her to face, people whom she could stop and all the problems along with them. After all it had been like that with Aang?


	5. Training

**To Teach and to Learn**

 **A/N: If you are enjoying this story I encourage you to check out my other fanfics: The Great Admiral (Mass Effect), The Outlander of the Republic (Star Wars) and Britain's Secret Project (Harry Potter).**

 **Avatar Korra- Air Temple Island**

Tenzin when they arrived seemed to have done a 180 degrees mood shift, as it appeared he was so enamoured by Chokin's spirit nature that he just changed his mind. Maybe this wouldn't be as strict as she thought, though she was still sent straight to bed.

The next day she practically jumped off Naga's back (she had been sleeping on it, given it was far more comfortable than the plank of a wood she'd been offered as a bed). "It's today, I'm finally going to learn airbending" she exclaimed. Jumping excitedly and practically skipping into the bathroom to prepare her morning stuff.

It was when she arrived in the dinner hall that a familiar voice spoke out to her "Someone's in a cheery mood, had a good night?"

She smiled at Chokin who was the only one at the table, currently in the middle of reading a huge book designed to service only the attention span of an immortal being could hold.

"No thanks to the bed, I ended up sleeping on Naga" she exclaimed impatient to get started "yours?"

"It was very anger inducing, this book is aggravating" he answered, still cheery, but he wasn't lying.

"Why what's this book about?" she asked curiously.

"It's a history book praising to no end the supposed 'best Avatar ever'" he explained with obvious distaste in his voice.

"Well technically we only really know about 4, before Yang Chen it gets kind of murky" she explained. It was something the White Lotus had drilled into her beforehand.

"Really? Well if you have any questions about the ancient Avatars feel free to ask" he said, which made her drop her salad.

"Wait you knew the past Avatars?" she demanded, astounded, some of the wisest members of the White Lotus knew nothing about the Ancient Avatars.

"You're not the only Avatar I was the Spirit guide to" he explained, as if it was nothing, he seemed to think that answer would satisfy her, but then realised he was wrong. "You see back since the first Avatar, Avatar Wan, there's been a simple problem"

"What?" she pressed, demanding more answers.

"The Avatar doesn't know how to deal with anything… complicated" he answered, his voice was not accusatory, or in any way judgemental for that matter.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, hoping that her voice didn't sound hurt at the possible insult. Since she wasn't actually hurt.

"Whenever a conflict is ambiguous in its morality the Avatar easily becomes confused, the Avatar is the fusion of a human and the spirit of light. Therefore the Avatar has always had trouble of comprehending grey conflicts not fought between light and dark, it's my job to guide them through those conflicts" explained Chokin, there was an element of sadness in his voice… as if remembering lost times.

"How long did you do that for?" she asked and that led to another question "and why did you stop?"

Chokin was clear that he didn't like discussing this, his eyes were shadowed, and devoid of flame, twinkles or even coldness. Where the twinkles should be in his eyes, it was as if looking into a scar, and he was shaking ever so slightly "I don't know… I lost track of time…especially after that day"

Korra wanted answers, but he was in clear pain trying to answer her so she decided to change the subject "Well what Avatar are you reading about?"

Chokin's despair ended immediately, as he adopted a look of absolute frustration, though none of it was directed at Korra, Chokin then started to rant "OH THIS AVATAR, you want to hear about THIS AVATAR? Well where to Raava damn start? How about the fact that he was a coward, always running away when people needed him. As soon as the Airbenders told them he needed them he was all like, too much responsibility I'm out, and then when he was told he had to lead the invasion he ran again, and then just before the comet he ran again, oh and he could have dealt with the Fire Nation several months before the comet, but noooo he was too afraid of that power and insisted he followed 'tradition'" holding up two quotation marks when saying the word tradition, Korra meanwhile was pointing to someone who just entered the room.

"Which I may add was unnecessary, I mean sure the Avatar State is not to be used lightly. But stopping a war in which hundreds a day die, that seems adequate a use to me" he continued, with no sign of slowing down.

"-But"

The final words of Chokin's rant had yet to escape his mouth, but now they were individually emphasised with anger as he raised a single finger "When you are the only one whom can stop a war in which hundreds die every day. You don't get to spent that time riding Elephant-Koi"

"Well then if you're done ranting about my Father, I would like to speak to Korra about her airbending training" murmured Tenzin with obvious distain on his face.

Chokin had jumped at Tenzin's arrival, and suddenly was now avoiding eye contact with anyone. Korra could barely make out a small squeak sounding oddly like "Father?"

"So, Tenzin I wanted to see if we could go see this today" she said slipping a newspaper clipping onto the table.

"I would like to see this Future Industries tour too" answered Chokin, sounding excited "I wondered how those ostrich-horseless carriages work". Huh?

Future Industries? Where did they- oh. She looked at the paper, it was upside down, displaying an ad for a tour at Future Industries. "oops"

She turned it around displaying the sports section, which had a pro-bending match listed on it. "Actually, I wanted to watch a pro bending since I was a kid and now we're just a ferry ride away from the Arena"

"Could we catch the match tomorrow night instead of tonight? It's just this is the last opportunity to have this tour as they're cancelling it. And I think it's a good idea to only have one event a day, just so you actually do some airbending practice" he said, seriously. Though Korra was excited about the possibility of finally seeing a pro bending match unfold, she could see it tomorrow.

"No one's seeing anything anywhere, in order to teach you airbending I believe you will need an atmosphere free of any distraction" ordered Tenzin sternly "Besides I don't need either of you visiting any of that dribble. Both that company and that sport is a mockery to tradition"

Korra didn't complain, more than anything she wanted to complete her training so she could finally help people. She couldn't do that yet, not until she was a fully realised Avatar and she wasn't too prideful to accept this advice. So, she resigned to Tenzin's advice "Alright, you're the master"

"In that case I expect you to be in airbending robes and in the yard in twenty minutes" ordered Tenzin sternly. She nodded her head and Tenzin took it as his cue to leave.

"And in 6 hours hours would you like to join me in my room for some stealth training" asked Chokin with a troublemaking smile on his face. Korra however hesitated, she didn't want to get side-tracked.

"I don't want to do this if it will damage my chances at being an Airbender" she replied, slightly glumly.

"It shouldn't really be a problem. Airbenders by their very nature are side-tracked and unfocused, they can't be content following tradition, they're always looking for a new angle. Your teacher does seem quite strange for an airbender, then again he is the son of an Avatar" he explained, all of it said in a tone of a teenager, not pressuring her but encouraging her. He made it sound like it would help but she couldn't.

"Do you think it will help? Because I really want to learn airbending as soon as possible" asked Korra, always up to learn anything to help beat the bad guys.

Chokin smiled warmly "It won't hurt, and you shouldn't push yourself too hard".

"Would you look at the time, I don't intend to be late for my first airbending lesson" she said, remembering that she needed to be there soon.

"In that case I'll be hiding from Tenzin in my room" smiled Chokin, as he left without a word.

Korra ate what remained of her breakfast and rushed to get dressed, she arrived in the courtyard 5 minutes early.

When Tenzin arrived it was clear he wasn't expecting Korra to be on time, she had a bad reputation back home. Still Tenzin gave a clear nod of approval and started to lecture her about airbending "I received a message from my mother that you've had a lot of trouble with airbending in the past, is this correct?"

She remembered all the nights when she'd thought she'd move on to deal with the final element, having already mastered the other three but when she tried "Nothing, and I don't know why. The other elements came so easily to me, but every time I tried even a puff of airbending, nothing" she complained, angry with herself.

"That's quite alright" comforted Tenzin, pulling down the sleeves she had pulled up on the robe for comfort "Often the element the Avatar has the hardest time learning is the one most opposite to their personality, For Aang it was Earth"

"Well I'm about as opposite an Airbender as you can get" she resigned annoyed with herself. She needed to get a grip, how was she going to beat all the evil people in the world without airbending.

Tenzin led her towards some sort of spinning flap contraption with his three kids jumping for joy chanting "Korra's going to airbend, Korra's going to airbend". This only served to cause the butterfly-bees in her stomach to mutate into wasp-flies. Great.

Tenzin and Jinora went into an elegant speech about how the machine descended from ancient airbenders, but ultimately all this correlated into her needing pass through the spinning plates without touching any of the plates. Couldn't they get to the point quicker than that?

"The key is to be like the leaf" explained Tenzin, letting a leaf fly into the contraption, it flowed through the breeze "when you meet resistance you must change direction at a moment's notice"

Right, well she'd dealt with obstacle courses before, so how hard could this be? "Let's do this" she yelled, refusing to allow this contraption to beat her without a fight.

But beat her it did, repeatedly, until she lost consciousness and woke up in her room. Chokin and Naga were looking down at her, she immediately felt humiliated she could guess what happened.

"You okay Korra?" asked Chokin, concern in his eyes.

"Ugggh, I'm useless" she moaned, angry that that simple thing had knocked her out.

"Well, I have to admit, that sort of thing may have been too advanced for a beginner, I'm guessing Tenzin just didn't want to feel he was holding you back" said Chokin, choosing to overlook Korra's statement "But he still wants you to do it again, he thinks you should have listened to him, I convinced him to wait until tomorrow and to let you skip mediation practice today"

"I did listen, and I'm still going to do mediation I can't fall behind on this" she demanded, outraged at herself for this delay, and at Tenzin for blaming her for 'not listening'.

She tried to get up from the bed but she found herself pushed back down, "take it from me, in all my experience mediation only allows some to commune with the spirit world. I doubt it will work for you, I find it sceptical that it will work for Tenzin"

This piqued Korra's interest and so she sat up "There are other ways to be spiritual?"

"Sort of, it depends on the nature of the person, methods such as art, music, culture and even pacing can enhance one's spiritual nature" explained Chokin, suddenly radiating with previous hidden wisdom, "the path to a goal is never a straight line, sometimes all you have to do is look for a shortcut"

"I thought there were no shortcuts?" she asked, confused at the contradictory advice.

"There are shortcuts, but there are no paths without effort or consequence" explained Chokin, a different sort of wisdom than that of her old masters. The difference was unable to describe, maybe it was that there was no tone of reprimanding.

"How do you do spiritual… stuff?" realising only half way through she wasn't clear on the correct term.

"I prefer not to, I hate anything with the word spirit in it. But when I have no choice… philosophy" contemplated Chokin

"Uggh… what use has that been to anyone" she groaned, remembering all the different White Lotus teachers whom had lectured her to no end, but not one could explain how it would help her in her duties.

"Heh… I lot of Avatars react that way, anyway I think that's Tenzin coming, so I have to hide, see you in 6 hours" replied Chokin cheerfully as he was about to dart out the door.

"Wait a minute how long was I out?" she asked.

"30 seconds, I work fast" he answered as he darted out of the door.

She lay back on her plank, and began to brood. She had failed her first day of airbending utterly, not only that she had quit without being given a choice. She could still mediate though, and she would continue her training whether Chokin felt she was up to it or not.

She sat in the lotus position she had seen in the scrolls, now what? She didn't feel more spiritual at all. Instead thoughts such as "this is stupid" wondered into her mind, but she refused to fall behind just because of a mere injury. She angrily squinted her eyes, trying to become spiritual. Come on, Come on.

It happened, a vision. She stood, where exactly? She couldn't see much in the inferno of flames. She moved, certain the smoke should be choking her, if this weren't a vision.

"Hey wake up" came a familiar voice, as Korra felt her head shake. She opened her eyes and saw Chokin smiling at her, shaking her awake.

"You fell asleep on the floor… these beds must be awful for you humans" he said examining the bed.

Suddenly Korra felt unsure and confused, her head questioning whether it was a dream or a vision.

"I was mediating and I thought I saw a vision" she said, cautious on each of the words.

Chokin looked intrested, "and what was this vision about?" he asked.

She put two fingers to her eyes and squeezed them together, "smoke, a lot of smoke"

"Anything else?" he prompted eyes shadowed.

She tried to remember, but it was like holding water with her hands, the picture dripping away. "No nothing"

"Worst vision ever… now the first thing you should know about stealth is" replied Chokin brightly, he continued to explain stealth and stuff. Korra focused on his every word, the vision disappeared, this stuff would be useful for dealing with the bad guys.

 **A/N: So in this chapter we get some strong hints about Chokin's past, and an answer that Korra isn't the first Avatar he's guided. But more than that this chapter is meant to highlight what I think was underplayed in the canon, that Korra cannot deal with anything that will get in the way of her doing what she thinks is her duty as Avatar. This includes herself, her friends and politics.**


	6. The Tour

**The Tour**

 **A/N: There will be no Makorra in this fanfic, I can't be bothered writing a doomed romance. Meanwhile Korrasami probably won't get started until at least book in case someone was wondering**

 **Avatar Korra Air Temple Island**

It was night, she still felt guilty for skipping out, but she did also need to understand stealth practice. Yet somehow despite having a much longer wind of explanations about differing hand signals and why they're important she managed to keep her attention. Maybe it was because Chokin didn't make it sound like a lecture, or because he kept bringing up past examples of how they were useful with past Avatars.

She had her eye on Chokin, waiting for the signal. In the meantime she was practicing airbending to no avail. But then she saw the hand signal and moved silently towards the bushes. Chokin had told her that the worst thing to do was to be separated, as if that happened it was extremely hard to coordinate or find each other again. Especially as you couldn't shout for your friend.

To that end she kept an eye on Chokin, who climbed along the side of the buildings, hidden in plain sight. Korra saw another signal meaning no guards so she moved towards a pillar, until she saw a lotus guard approaching. She hugged the pillar as tightly as possible, while she saw Chokin make himself as small as possible. Her breath held as she tried to be as silent as possible, every moment intense in the game of cat and mouse.

But the guard passed, she gave the all clear signal to Chokin who replied with a 'dive' as she dived into the Roku Channel. She then felt something grab onto her ankle, she was about to shake it off until she realised it was Chokin. Who it appeared could not breathe underwater, she pushed the water away from them to breathe.

"Good work Korra, especially for a first time, you could read my signals well but try and send me some more signals otherwise I'm operating in the dark" he explained as they swam towards the mainland.

She nodded, making a personal note for future practice as they arrived at the shoreline. Working through the city, they got lost several times but still somehow managed to arrive at the factory on time. Surprisingly no one questioned Chokin not being Human.

"And here we are, I hope, ah look there's the sign" he said pointing towards a sign saying free tour. Korra only just realised they had no money if it wasn't free.

"I guess we just wait here then" she answered, pulling up a stone stool out of the ground.

It had only been a few minutes before someone came in. She was appeared incredibly glamourous and beautiful, with her long raven black hair.

"Is this all" she said slightly disappointed, she looked up and noticed Chokin and appeared surprised, "Are you a spirit?"

"I prefer the term freak" replied Chokin far too brightly. The Woman looked confused.

"Wait have we offended you in some way, are you going to destroy our company?" she asked backing away.

"What no, Chokin here's just my spirit guide. You see I'm the Avatar" she babbled, then realised it probably wasn't a good idea to tell everyone that.

"You're the Avatar?" she asked, awed, then she turned to Chokin "I'm sorry about how I acted"

"Don't worry about it, you seem to be the only one in this city who's actually noticed" replied Chokin, showing no signs of being offended, then he paused "just remember if you do end up offending any spirit in a way in which they start attacking you, I'll be on Air Temple Island to kick their butts"

"Err thanks I guess? I'm Asami Sato nice to meet you Avatar?" she hung on the last word. Korra realised she hadn't introduced herself yet.

"Korra, Avatar Korra" she replied, hoping she didn't look stupid.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you, and it looks like there's no one else here, so we can begin the tour" she started, leading them into the main building where the sounds of machines filled the air. Saws buzzed, while parts were delivered to the working people by some sort of pulley contraption while Satomobiles were wheeled through the factory.

Asami led them through the assembly line, explaining the roles of each part, person and machine. Introducing them to a lot of people, though they tried to be kind, they were clearly tired from the long day. Eventually she led them towards the finishing car park with rows of the cars left for their paint to dry.

"So where are the invisible sheep-goats" asked Chokin, completely unaware what he just said was unbelievably stupid.

"What?" asked Korra, completely confused.

"Well it's impossible for a non-living thing to move so… never mind" he trailed off, clearly realising the tenser atmosphere, "Ignore me I'm an idiot"

"Err ok" replied Asami a look that practically screamed, "clearly".

It was at this moment a radio speaker was blearing _"Attention all units, Attention all units_ "

"What is that? Some sort of radio?" Korra asked, it sounded like a police radio.

"Err"

"You speak into one end, and the sound comes out the other end" explained Korra, in the simplest terms as possible.

"These ones are police scanners, my Dad keeps them installed in all our personal cars so I don't come across anything dangerous" explained Asami, she started to fiddle around in the car.

" _All units Spirit attack at Yang Chen Dam, is unreasonable and unrelenting. So, could someone remind me what exactly we're supposed to do_?" screamed the voice in the speaker.

"A spirit attack? Why would that happen?" asked Korra, looking towards Chokin who raised his arms defensively.

"I don't know, I've been here the whole time" he shouted in his defence, "Where is that dam anyway? How far away is it?"

"It's around 10 miles away we'll never get there in time" said Korra, panic starting to fill her voice.

"On foot, but we might make it by car" replied Asami, with the slightest smirk.

"Why didn't I think of that" she replied and the three of them leaped into the car and got going towards the dam. Luckily it was late at night and the roads were clear.

Arriving at the dam it was clear the police were outmatched; the spirit was screaming in way that shattered glass and sent people off their feet. It also used its incredible strength, being 2 and a half the size of the average human, to throw one of the police cars off the edge of the dam.

Korra immediately responded sending two fire blasts at the spirit which were absorbed with no effect. Chokin meanwhile plunged himself off the dam, one of his arms wrapped around the rail of the dam, as he disappeared.

Korra meanwhile was redoubling her efforts on the spirit plunging streams of water, fire and huge boulders into the spirit. Who simply absorbed the blasts, one of its tentacles rose to attack Korra. But at that moment Korra felt something plunge into her side just as one of the tentacles crashed into where she had been less than a second ago.

Asami had pushed out of the way of the tentacle she had missed, Korra thanked her but immediately got back on her feet.

"Why are you doing this?" she shouted towards the spirit as she threw up a barrier of earth to block another strike.

"This was my waterfall, my home, IT HAS BEEN DESTROYED FOR THIS ABOMINATION" it screamed, fury in its voice.

"Oh Boohoo, you're going to lose your pretty waterfall" came a deeply sarcastic voice, Korra turned to see Chokin's head peer over the damn, two police officers in his arm.

"YOU!" screamed the spirit, turning towards Chokin "TRAITOR"

It charged at Chokin, but he was ready for it. The spirit's head was grasped in Chokin's fist, while Chokin's other fist somehow found its way into the Spirit's stomach. The spirt flew several feet.

"You ready to talk now?" asked Chokin, his voice dripping with a cold dark hate.

"You, how could you? You traitor" spat the spirit.

"I betrayed a kind so cold, so heartless that it put pretty waterfalls and mountains above Human life" retorted Chokin, his every syllable wretched in anger.

The spirit turned instead to Korra, "Avatar, my name is Pubu. These people have destroyed my home, I merely wanted it back"

"We had no idea this was your home" said Asami, she seemed sympathetic "we wouldn't have built this dam if we had known"

"Then leave, and never return" spat the Pubu, vengefully.

"But we've already built half of the dam, they'll lose millions if they pull out now" replied Asami, this had gotten complicated.

"You Humans only care about money and power, you don't care about the others around you" retorted Pubu, anger wretched on his face.

"You're as naïve as you are an idiot" spat Chokin, anger wretched on his face "We are not like that at all"

"Maybe some sort of compromise" suggested Korra, this is what the Avatar was about wasn't it.

"Your kind must leave, this is my home. Anything less would be an affront to nature" spat Pubu back, unrelenting in his position.

Chokin grabbed Pubu by the neck, his eyes were slits "Nature?" he spat "don't talk to me about nature. It's is no justification for your stubbornness"

Chokin's eyes had become like ice as they bored into Pubu, Korra herself became worried, Chokin looked dangerous "Chokin, you can let him go now"

Chokin blinked, then looked guilty and laid Pubu gently back on the ground. Pubu's gaze remained harsh meanwhile Chokin still had a look of pure loathing.

"Now Pubu, we should be able to find a solution but you have to work with us" said Korra, hoping she was being gentle, but Pubu laughed.

"I want my waterfall back, you want to replace it with this dam" mulling over the last word with an element of disgust as if tasting poison "I don't see any middle ground"

"You could become the first dam spirit" joked Asami, which earned her an angry look from Pubu, and an 'really' look from Korra. She fell silent.

Chokin however had his far more energetic energy return "Why what's wrong with that idea? What's so bad about this dam?"

Pubu's angry look of disbelief shot towards Chokin, who was gazing across down the dam, Chokin didn't turn to face them.

Korra however felt something was off and moved out of Pubu's earshot.

"What was so special about your waterfall? What made it so amazing?" Chokin, his tone suddenly less angry but more impatient, as if he had this conversation hundreds of times before.

"You wouldn't understand" he spat, his mouth must be becoming dry.

Chokin kneeled down to Pubu, anger and hate were clearly suppressed in his face, "how can I, you can't explain it"

"No, it's just obvious you IDIOT" he shouted, he was beside himself.

"Then spell it out to me" asked Chokin, impatiently.

"Aren't you being a bit unfair" asked Korra timidly, he was unusually cold.

Chokin ignored her, looking Pubu in the with his sharp, narrowed eyes "I don't have time for petty emotions, this dam will make money yes, but also help people. Support families and improve lives. That is the human case, now explain how people could suffer, not just you but the bigger picture, and spare me the sob story"

Pubu looked dead in Chokin's eyes, then aside, his mouth gaped open, then closed. "Why should I care about these Humans?"

"Why should the Humans care about you then?" asked Chokin storming off.

Korra was going through a whirlwind of emotions: pity, anger but above all confusion. She didn't know who was right, it was unfair that Pubu should lose his home but Chokin was correct the dam would help more people. Why did it have to be so complicated?

But she had to do something, so she leaned down, trying to appear gentle yet she had no idea on how to proceed. How to break through Pubu's stubbornness and though she could sense that Asami would compromise if she could, but building a dam was tricky. Chokin, seemed to be prejudiced against the spirit for some sort of personal reason.

"Listen Mr Pubu, we can't help you if you aren't going to let us. If you don't I'll have no choice but to kick you out" she said as gently as possible but while maintaining a tone of voice to indicate that she wasn't bluffing.

Pubu did something that he hadn't done yet, admit defeat. He made no verbal sign, but rather he bowed his head and then began to shake. Then tears started to stream down his face "but-but I've lived here all my life… it's my home. I shouldn't leave just because…because" he couldn't answer simply stuttering and sobbing.

Korra simply didn't know what to do, simply standing there, until she decided to simply hug the spirit. It slowly stopped crying, "Isn't there anything that can be done?" he asked slowly.

She thought, for a few moments, then had an answer "Yes".

Asami, Chokin and Pubu, stared at her, it was not the answer they expected. She herself didn't know if it would work but opted to try anyway. She jumped, off the dam, pulling up water she plunged into the river breaking her fall. Gliding along the river towards the other side of the reservoir, she leapt from the water, thrusted upwards with jets of fire. Until she was a high enough to fall back down to the top of the cliff on the other side of the lake, again using fire to slow her fall.

Hoping this will work, she slammed the stone with her stone, channelling all her strength into the single strike. A few seconds passed, then rumbling and cracks spread through the countryside, reaching down towards the base. She then drew water, from an outbound river pulling it towards her, and then continued down the waterfall.

She then saw Asami, Pubu and Chokin, coming up to her in the car. She walked over to them, though she grabbed her knees out of breath. "Will that work?" she asked.

"You made a second waterfall… impressive" admired Asami.

"Why didn't I think of that?" said Chokin, but Pubu floated up to it, looking sentimental.

"It won't be the same" he said, anger bubbling inside her. What the hell did he want then?

"It will never be the same, but it could be better, why don't you give it a chance" said Chokin, calmer than before.

"I suppose I can't demand more than that" Pubu said glumly as he phased into the falls.

"There's one question I have though, it doesn't really relate" asked Asami as they walked back to the car.

"Always ask them, it's wonderful to ask" answered Chokin jumping into the back seat.

"Well if Pubu is a waterfall spirit, and there's a moon and water spirit in the water tribe" she said.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that too, all the spirits are about one thing or another so why are you different?" she asked curiously. Chokin appeared to be mulling the question over.

"What you've got to know about spirits is that they come in three types, the two big ones, Raavy and Vaatu"

"Raavy?"

"Nickname, then you got the elementals, Moony, Wavy, Sunny, Windy and Quaky"

"Why do all their nicknames end in a 'y'?"

"Reasons, now after those you got the inhabitants, like Pubu there, who inhabit a certain place. Those are generally the jerks as they don't understand the concept of moving"

"and you are?"

"Spirit of progress, makes me an outsider, somewhere between the elementals and the inhabitants" answered Chokin "I never fit, that's one of the reasons I helped your past lives"

"Am I going to see you again?" asked Asami as they pulled up to the dock.

"We're going to see the pro-bending match tomorrow, if we see you there we'll wave" answered Korra as entered the ship. Anticipating the hell storm that Tenzin had waiting for them.

 **A/N: Wow this chapter took a lot longer than I expected.**

 **I know Asami didn't get the respect she may have deserved for an intro chapter, but I do intend on giving her a more active role in future chapters.**

 **Otherwise I would note that I liked this chapter as I felt it delved into a lot of what Chokin is about. The continued development of humans in their technology, society and philosophy is his goal. Thereby he'll get frustrated, and unsympathetic when people get in the way of that. He doesn't understand that some people won't be able to see the bigger picture, but in reality, life is a huge collage of little pictures.**

 **Also, how did people like that resolution? I didn't want a terrible simple environmental message but one that showed the other side. One displaying the corporations as more pragmatic, rather than greedy.**


	7. The Bending Arena

**The Bending Arena**

 **A/N: So, this is the chapter where I introduce Mako and Bolin. I had the first two bending matches in one day to save time. Not much else to say**

 **Avatar Korra- Airbender Island**

Tenzin, as it turned out was not happy with their 'stealth training' when they returned to the temple.

"Where were you? I was about to send out a search party" he said, his voice just below shouting.

"errr"

"This is too dangerous, there are far too many people who want you dead for you to go just wandering around the city" he lectured

"We were safe" she responded meekly.

"Where were you then?" he asked, somehow fighting a dangerous spirit monster didn't seem like the correct option.

"We were underwater" lied Chokin, but with such an upbeat tone.

"Underwater?" asked Tenzin, and Korra herself seemed confused at the blatant lie.

"Yeah, we were fishing, we were hoping to relax after training. And where better to hunt fish than under the sea" he said, she knew he was bluffing but he held such an energy that implied it was a bonkers thing he would do.

Tenzin visibly sighed "I swear between you and the kids I'm not long for this world" he mumbled, "get to bed Korra, you need to be awake for tomorrow's training"

At that he left the room leaving both Korra and Chokin appalled "How in the world did you get away with that?"

"I don't know I thought I was joking" answered Chokin, then Korra laughed in relief.

"Well I should get some rest" she said yawning.

"I'll meet you in the morning, might get a mattress" said Chokin as he waved her goodbye.

 **The Next Morning**

Things had not improved on the airbending front, at all. Tenzin continued to demand her pass through the spinning plates. Well this time she'll do it properly, no more trying to force her way through, this time she'll make it.

She walked in, dodged the first then the second but the third got her. She was slammed into the centre, and lost her bearing. She tried to think but she was constantly slammed into by the plates… she needed to think, but she couldn't.

SLAM, SLAM, SLAM. "ARRGH" she couldn't think. The plates kept throwing her off balance, "ARRGH GET OFF ME YOU STUPID PIECES OF S-"she screamed blasting flames into the contraption.

"KORRA, that was a ten-thousand-year-old historical treasure. Wha-what is wrong with you?" yelled Tenzin, but this time Korra had enough.

"There's nothing wrong with me, this test is useless, you haven't told me how to do it. All you have done is told me to do is 'be the leaf'" emphasising the quote sarcastically holding up air quotes "but you never told me what that actually means. Nor have you bothered to tell me exactly how I'm supposed to dodge these slabs"

"If you would only listen"

"I HAVE BEEN LISTEINING" she screamed, refusing to "BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK, I THINK THE REASON I CAN'T AIRBEND IS BECAUSE YOU'RE A TERRIBLE TEACHER". At that she stormed off, instantly regretting what she said.

 **A few hours later**

She had found a tree, in a secluded location, and was punching her frustrations out. She was angry, angry at Tenzin, angry at the element, angry at Chokin for some reason, but most of all she was angry with herself. She needed to bend this element, she needed it, to do her duty.

"Frustrating, isn't it" came a voice from behind.

"What is it Chokin?"

"We were going to go to the pro bending arena, weren't we?" She had forgotten about that.

"Oh yeah" she wasn't in the mood, but she did say she would.

"So which team will we be supporting?" asked Chokin, clearly trying to probe her.

"I've always liked the Fire Ferrets, I listen to them on the radio" she guessed half-heartedly.

"Well let's get a move on" ushered Chokin gesturing her off.

They met no guards this time and exited the temple without much issue swimming up to the stadium and over the sides into the building.

"So, how does this work, in the old ostrich-horse races you would buy tickets and gamble on who we thought would win" explained Chokin, they both froze, realising something "We don't actually have any money do we?"

She shook her head as an angry voice came from behind them "Hey you what are you doing here"

"What?" she looked around, Chokin had disappeared "errr looking for the bathroom?" she suggested timidly.

"Oh the old I had to pee excuse" Chokin where were you?

"Oh, there you are" came a friendlier voice, as one of the pro-benders approach her.

"Yeah I'm with him" she bluffed.

"So, we're together" he said, making it awkward.

"Well not together, together"

"Right no. Did I say that, didn't mean to make it awkward"

"Oh, you made it awkward"

The manager or whatever simply threw his arms up "Bolin, just take your fangirl and get out of my hair". Fangirl?

"Right away Mr Tozu" answered Bolin, giving a small salute, "right this way young lady"

"Thanks, fine sir" she said mockingly, then as they walked through the bending arena they entered the changing. The she lowered her voice and said, "seriously thanks"

Bolin led her towards a room.

"What do you think, best seats in the house huh?" he boasted.

She'd never seen anything that felt so big, it almost seemed bigger on the inside. The actual pitch itself was the size of the air temple, while the stands themselves felt never ending. Each person adding further to the scale of the building.

"I don't think the seats are the best, I mean the commentators box gives you a bird's eye view" said Chokin, surprising both Korra and Bolin.

"Where were you?" she asked, and how did he get there?

"You may have been able to bluff your way from getting arrested, but I'm blue remember, so I hid" he explained, good point.

"Bolin we're up" said a gruff voice, as one of the pro-benders came out pulling on the straps to his helmet "and for the last time, would you please stop bringing your fangirls in here"

"ahh come on, I have a good feeling about this one, and she's got a spirit friend" replied Bolin, fiddling with the straps on his helmet and pointing to Chokin.

"Bolin, that's a mascot, not a spirit" said the pro-bender gruffly.

Bolin looked disappointed "but you said Pabu could be our mascot" as he ran onto the extension platform.

Korra looked towards Chokin, his hands were raised, mouth open with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"How?" he begged, beyond confused.

"Let's just pretend that never happened" said Korra.

"Seconded" he answered.

"Gooood evening gentlemen, introducing the Fireeee Ferrets" said the announcer waving a hand towards Bolin and his team.

"Okay I'm already confused how does one play?" asked Chokin.

"So, the game basically has you play dodgeball, with bending, the goal is to avoid being knocked back. If you're all in the water it's a knockout and you instantly lose no matter what, if that doesn't happen it's whichever team who's been pushed back the most at the end of the time limit" she explained, "and once all of your team are pushed back from a zone the other team advance"

"Sounds fun" he murmured half-heartedly, completely undervaluing the point.

"Fun? Fun it's a brilliant sport of strategy and bending philosophy. Take the Fire Ferrets for example, they rarely actually fire anything back but rather dodge their opponents until they run out of stamina, then attack in full force just like the water bending form Pilao, COME ON FERRETS" she screamed the last statement enthusiastically to Bolin and co, punching the air.

"You know quite a lot, are you sure you aren't just some rapid fangirl?" teased Chokin.

Korra was aghast "of course not, anyone who knows anything knows this"

"Okay now can you please let go of my chest" he asked, Korra looked down and noticed she had clutched his chest in her fist.

She pulled away in embarrassment, "Sorry"

"Hey look there's Asami" said Chokin as he made a massive wave towards the stands, Korra looked and she indeed did see Asami up there. But she was more transfixed on the game and hadn't noticed them.

"You want to go see her at the half time?" he asked.

"There isn't act-"

"IT'S A KNOCKOUT" screamed the commentator.

"Wait what?" she said, as she looked to the stage, she saw Bolin and the Gruff pro-bender walked back with another pro-bender with them.

"WOOHOO" shouted Bolin, running up to the Korra and jumping up in the air excitedly "one more match and we're in the championship tournament"

"Where are you going?" asked the Firebender pro-bender to the Water pro-bender.

"Out, I'll be in time for the next one" retorted the Water pro-bender, as he stormed out the room slamming the door behind him.

"Mako lay off Haskook" asked Bolin.

"You were almost thrown off the side thanks to him" shot Mako.

"Mako, wow you were good too" she bluffed, having no idea how it happened.

"Oh, you're still here?"

"Oh, you're still a jerk?"

"Anyway, I've never seen bending like that before" she lied, wishing now more than ever she had watched the match. Thanks a lot, Chokin.

"You could learn from him, he seemed to know what he was doing" pointed out Chokin, was he watching while talking?

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how Earthbending would translate into your waterbending" he said, oh this was too much fun. Chokin smirked knowingly.

"Actually that's not a problem, I'm an Earthbender" she said.

"Oh sorry, no I didn't mean to assume. That outfit, and mascot implied that you were a water tribe gal" he said, worried he had offended her.

"I'M NOT A MASCOT" shouted Chokin, pointing to himself "I'M A FREAK, AND I'M NOT WEARING A COSTUME"

"You, errrmm" asked Bolin.

"He's a spirit" she explained, over his shoulder.

"I prefer the term freak" Chokin said annoyed, Bolin seemed very confused.

"Why is there a spirit here" asked Mako lazily.

"I REALLY prefer the term freak" repeated Chokin.

"Well why is there a freak here?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm her spirit guide" said Chokin, in a mock gruff tone.

"But why do you have a guide" asked Bolin.

"Because I'm the Avatar, nice to meet you" she said, enjoying how Mako just let out a sigh and a face palm.

"No way, the Avatar" Bolin said pointing to Korra.

"I have SO many questions, what's it like? Do you have to mediate a lot? Are you able to speak to Aang? Can you metal bend? Can you teach me?" begged Bolin, she looked to the other two for help.

"We'd love to stay but Tenzin will kill her if she stays out too long. We'll be here tomorrow" answered Chokin, it was unfortunately running late.

"One question though" begged Bolin, earnestly "does this mean we're on Team Avatar?"

"errm, maybe?" she replied, never have thought about it.

"It's a likely possibility" answered Chokin, causing Bolin to leap in the air, and Mako to betray a look of hope.

Outside the bending arena she had a question to ask Chokin "does this happen a lot?"

"Does what happen?"

"Team Avatar, Aang had a team but Roku didn't and neither did Kyoshi" she asked, sort of worried.

"No one, no matter how powerful, can hold the weight of the world on their shoulders by themselves. That was why Roku failed, I should have been there" replied Chokin, somewhat sadly. Basically yes.

"Is that how you normally recruit members then?" she asked changing the subject.

"Remind me to tell you about the time I got a lion turtle on the team" he replied, smiling.

As they swam back to the temple she started to ponder an interesting question. Where was Chokin during the hundred year war or for the Avatars before that? And why did he leave?

 **A/N: Another chapter done, this was originally meant to be a single chapter with the next chapter, but it went on way too long. In any case anyone have any ideas on how to rewrite Mako, his original personality wasn't doing anyone any favours.**


	8. To Teach and to Learn

**To Teach and to Learn**

 **The Next Day**

Airbending was skipped, since she and Tenzin were still angry at each other. She knew she'd have to apologise eventually, but it was hard. She knew Tenzin wouldn't apologise in return, other than a simple word.

"It's petty isn't it" she confessed.

"Not until both ofyou know what you're fighting about" answered Chokin, who was trying to figure out how a radio worked.

"But I know what this is about, I should just apologise"

"Then what will that solve, in the short term everything but in the future, nothing" explained Chokin.

Korra didn't get anything from that, Chokin sighed. "Imagine you have a…erm"

"Go on"

"…. I not good with metaphors" Chokin shrugged.

"That was a useful" she said, Chokin chuckled at the sarcasm.

"Yeah, I guess that was pathetic, but think about it ok?" he asked.

"err ok then" she said, "anyway we should get to the arena"

"Yeah, we don't want to ruin any possible future Team Avatar possibilities" he said, jumping into the channel.

But things were not as great at the bending arena as they were before, both Bolin and Mako seemed downcast. Haskook was nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't miss your match, did I?" she asked, concerned

"You might as well have, Haskook's a no-good no show" said Mako throwing fire at the ground.

"Can't blame him, he was the naturally weakest and felt left out. So, you blamed him when things went South, even though he was trying his best" chided Chokin, arms crossed.

"What do you know?" retorted Mako.

"That you still have a water bender right here" he replied pointing to Korra.

"Yeah, I was wondering why you didn't think of me" she said, somewhat annoyed.

"Well you're not a pro bender" said Bolin, "plus-"

At that moment, however a referee interrupted them "Last chance are you in or out?"

"Yes, we are" said Korra.

"We are?" asked Mako.

"You can thank me later" she said confidently.

"Korra one thing" interrupted Chokin, "Don't think you can find an exploit, just do it by the book. And with your skill you'll kick their butts"

Korra made a mock salute and ran off, then returned remembering she need some equipment.

"This girl is crazy" breathed Mako, walking off, worried.

"You haven't met her past lives" Chokin smiled.

 **Tenzin**

Tenzin sighed, why must even the most prestigious masters in the world, the White Lotus, become addicted to that pro-bending dribble.

"Excuse me, have any of you seen Korra?" he asked, she needed to get back to airbending eventually and stop this foolishness.

"You've got to be kidding me folks, THAT'S THE AVATAR" shouted the Commentator, leading one of the White Lotus members to spit his drink into one of the others.

"I'll get her myself" he shouted, turning on his heel and grumbling to herself.

The trip was shorter than he thought, it passed with him lost in thought about exactly how best to get into to Korra's thick skull. She appeared to have absolutely no respect for the culture he grew up with, and simply demanded that she become an airbender instantly without ever listening to him.

And that Spirit was just as useless, in fact even worse he encouraged it. Out of all the wonderful, enlightened spirits out there he got the exception. Entering the pro-bending arena was a chore, the crowds suffocated him with their dribbling, suffocating cheering and insensitive booing.

Entering the room, he saw Chokin, he was gazing upon the arena. "So have you been having a good time fishing?"

Chokin immediately turned around and smiled "Thank Raava, I was worried you'd actually believed that"

"If I did, I would have opposed, we are vegetarians" he said, though with uncut tension, "what is Korra doing here?"

"Don't blame her, I encouraged her to do this" replied Chokin, with a somewhat cheeky grin. He seemed taller than he was before.

"Why would you do that, are you being immature on purpose?" he asked, his patience being tested.

Chokin, stopped grinning then asked him "why do you want Korra back?"

"Is it not obvious, how am I supposed to teach her without her there" he said, ever more angry.

"So, you can teach her, not so she can learn" he asked.

"Wha- What's the difference?" he retorted "I don't have time for these riddles"

Chokin held up his hand in a lazy fashion. "There is in fact a distinct difference, when teaching someone you demand that they adapt to your lesson. When you have someone learn, the lesson adapts for the person" An earth disc soared into his hand, one that Korra had just successfully dodged.

Looking towards the stadium he suddenly realised something. This wasn't the sloppy basic forms like he expected. They defied the nature of their own element to become something else.

"Like an airbender" pointed out Chokin.

"You can't have known this when you brought her here" he replied, refusing to believe he had this planned out.

"Airbenders are supposed to look for new methods and angles when one fails, this was the first of many different methods" he replied concentrating on the match.

It was at this moment that Korra had taken the fight out of the other team and was on the offensive. They had lost the first two rounds so they needed a knockout on this one but with twenty seconds left they'd need to pull something out of the bag to win.

Korra thrust one of her water jets at the middle bender who was catapulted into the water. Meanwhile a combined fire and earth attack from the other athletes threw another opponent into the water.

Ten seconds, come on Korra she was on the offensive and kicking back the benders. The other bender was in zone one, nine, eight, come on Korra.

"IT'S A KNOCKOUT" screamed the commentator.

"WOOHOO" cheered Tenzin, then he noticed Chokin's smirk and composed himself, and walked out.

 **A few hours later**

Winning the match was huge, and she eagerly accepted the offer to join the Fire Ferrets afterwards. For the first time she felt she was more than an avatar, probending may not seem bigger but it was something she did herself.

They had met Asami and introduced her to everyone. It had gone well, yet Mako was unable to stop blushing until Chokin convinced Korra to splash him over the head with water. After which they had to say goodbye so Korra and Chokin returned to Air temple Island, and they found Tenzin overseeing the reconstruction of the spinning plates.

She sighed, she was going to have to do this eventually.

"Tenzin" she said, somewhat timidly, as he turned to her "I wanted to apologise for what I did to the equipment, and more importantly for what I said"

Tenzin put a hand on her shoulder "It's fine Korra… perhaps this was not the best way to learn airbending" he said

"I'm not giving up" she said indignantly "I will get through them"

"I'm sure you will, but perhaps for now there is an alternative" explained Tenzin, he looked over her shoulder as if for reassurance, but when she turned there was no one there "I saw you at pro-bending today". Uh-oh.

"I'm sorry Tenzin it's ju-" she tried to explain but he simply held up a hand.

"Don't be… there I shouldn't…there wasn't anything wrong with pro-bending. I judged prematurely" he answered.

"Who are you and what have you done with Tenzin" she asked.

"I think you should ask your spirit friend Chokin" said Tenzin "I spoke with him during the match"

This was news to Korra, Chokin hadn't mentioned this "What did you talk about?"

"He told me pro-bending was a lot like airbending" said Tenzin, earning him a baffled look from Korra.

"Out of all the spirits in the spirit world to randomly decide to be my guide, it had to be the crazy one" she said, earning a knowing look from Tenzin.

"I agree, but he was right about this. Where did you learn your new bending form?" he asked.

"What new bending form?... do you mean the thing Bolin told me to do?" she asked, "It's barely a new form it's just being light on your feet"

"So that you can change direction at a moment notice" he said, smiling gently, "Like a leaf"

Her eyes rounded "Does that mean you won't kill me for signing up permanently with the Fire Ferrets?" she asked, Tenzin sighed in response. She took that as a yes.

"You will need to work extra hard in your off time, for now let's refine this new technique" he started to get into a Kata, she smiled and continued to do the same.

The rest of the evening Tenzin would send bursts of air towards Korra, all of which she dodged with little effort and expert precision, eventually though the sun was starting to set, and Tenzin suggested she head to bed but before she did she had one more question.

"Did Chokin tell you, that I wasn't the first Avatar he worked with. It sounded like he was a regular Team Avatar member in my past lives, did you know anything about this?" she asked.

Tenzin stroked his beard, contemplating "I've learned about every Avatar we know of, …especially after my Father's passing but Chokin doesn't appear in any of their lives"

"It does get kind of murky before Yang Chen?" she said.

"Only for the average person. Did he say when this was?" he asked.

"He did mention he met the First Avatar, Avatar Wan" she said.

"We don't know anything about him unfortunately, even for the most famous archaeologists, our knowledge breaks down around 4000 years ago" he explained.

"So he must have left before that" she said.

"Or be the reason for that" pointed out Tenzin, an uncomfortable silence. Korra was getting suspicious.

After a long silence she said awkwardly "Good night Tenzin"

"Good night Korra" he replied, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

 **A/N: In case you hadn't noticed, I decided to rush chapter two, which is why I didn't see the pro-bending at all. The reasons for this is because I have a few ideas I want to move to quickly.**

 **Also, how are people liking Chokin as a character, he's in many ways designed to be a complete opposite of what you'd expect from a spirit. While most spirits are idealistic, Chokin is pragmatic. While spirits are generally cold, Chokin maintains an often-energetic attitude. While most spirits are naturalists, Chokin is very progressive being the spirit of progress. Please leave a review if you like this idea or have suggestions.**


	9. A Day Out

**A Day Out**

 **Asami**

The morning was evil, yet that was the only time the rookies could get at the gym. After several times of the fire ferrets moaning about this Chokin eventually just asked why they didn't just use Air Temple Island for training.

Which is why Asami and Chokin were now sitting around 'overseeing' their training while playing a game of Pai-Sho. A game she was currently winning, while the benders practiced in the courtyard.

"Come on, that's not fair" exclaimed Chokin as she took several of his pieces.

"You need think these moves through" she said smiling.

"No you don't" said Bolin, as he threw several discs at Korra, "Pai-Sho is a game about fast paced quick action, and speed. I should know I learned from Shady Shim"

Asami frowned "no it isn't I was taught by my Dad and he said it was a game about careful well-timed strategy"

"You're both wrong, I invented the game as a way for the White Lotus to communicate" said Chokin "it was never meant to be anything more than that"

"Wait you created Pai-Sho" she said, surprised. Chokin nodded, "and I'm beating you at it?"

"You don't have to rub it in" he moaned, but just then a spray of water sent their game flying, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"Sorry" said Korra, waving her hands in apology "I was aiming for Bolin"

She sighed, sometimes Korra needed to think before doing this stuff "This is literally the third time, and each time I was about to beat him. You two don't have a deal going on do you?" she asked, Chokin's eyes looked darted around, as if looking for an escape.

"Korra, would you mind explaining what you have done to my courtyard" came Tenzin's voice as he gazed upon the destroyed courtyard. Destroyed from the bending practice.

"You know I think today would be a great day to spend in the city" said Chokin quickly.

"I agree" she replied as she darted after him.

"Us too" said Korra attempting to run but Tenzin grabbed her by the ponytail.

"Oh no you don't, if you're going to practice pro-bending in my courtyard we're going to have to establish some rules while my house is still in one piece" he yelled "And I expect you two here as well" pointing to Mako and Bolin, both of whom were trying to sneak out.

Out by the dock Chokin and Asami had made it out of Tenzin's clutches of anger.

"Did we miss anyone" said Chokin, as they got onto Asami's private speedboat.

"Err, Korra, Bolin and Mako" she listed off.

"Great, so nobody important" he said jokingly.

"So, wait are we actually going, or is this some kind of joke?" she confirmed.

"I don't know, but what is there to do but get our Pai-Sho game destroyed, we'll just leave a note" he suggested, getting a pen and paper. He wrote a note and stuck it to a post, so they sailed to the mainland.

"any ideas on what to do?" asked Chokin.

"Hmmm, we'll find something to do" she said as they pulled up to the dock and got into her car "What is it you do for fun?"

"I infiltrate extremist groups to laugh at them, or make new political scriptures on stuff, you?" he said cheerfully.

"Hmmm, I like pro-bending, race car driving and stuff like that" she answered.

"Sounds good" he replied, an awkward beat passed. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Hey you said you knew about the ancient Avatars didn't you?" she asked

"Correction I knew them personally, why do you ask?" Chokin asked.

"My personal tutor has always tried to find out about them, he's devoted his entire life to it but never found anything" she explained, it was true. Her Father never let her go to school since her Mother died so they'd hired a private tutor. His name was Professor Jiaoshou, and taught her 90% everything she knew apart from self-defence classes.

"And you want me to write a history book? I suppose I don't have anything better to do, sure I'll contribute to your history books. Not to brag but I play a big part" he said, with pride, but then a hint of sadness, "wow, a really big part"

Asami pulled up to her house and the two of them entered the building, her Butler, Guan, bowed them in "Ms Sato, you are back early. May I inquire about the occasion and may I have the name of this mascot"

Mascot? What Mascot she turned and saw that Chokin had his head in his palm.

She sighed, wordlessly Chokin and Asami agreed not to mention it.

"I'm Chokin, nice to meet you" he said shaking the butler's hand.

"A Pleasure sir, my name is Guan" he said formally, "Ms Sato may I get you anything"

"Could you ask Professor Jiaoshou if he's available I want to introduce him to someone" she asked.

"Of course, Ms Sato" he said as he went to the phone. Looking over her shoulder she saw Chokin entering a room that she really didn't want him to go into.

"No don't go in there" she shouted but too late he'd already seen everything.

Inside was nothing incriminating or really bad, but it was incredibly embarrassing.

"Why not?" he asked looking into the room. It was stuffed with inventions, blueprints and failed ideas.

"What's all this?" he smirked, looking at the blueprints.

"Please don't say anything, I was really young when I made them" she said.

"Why not? These sound great. An electric glove, a mechanized tank and what is that?" he asked looking towards her old fridge design.

"Please stop, you don't have to pretend these are any good" she said. She'd always had people pretend they were, but nothing ever worked, they were never perfect.

"But they are, imagine how that robot thingy will help in construction. And I could imagine the electric glove will be a great non-lethal take down" he lied continuously. Couldn't someone just tell her the truth?

"Could you please just pretend this never happened. And not tell anyone, please" she begged.

Something in her desperation seemed to get through to him as he nodded and the two walked out. He continued to look concerned.

"Ms Sato, the Professor is busy right now but he'll be ready in forty minutes" said Guan.

"Thanks Guan, we'll just stay here until then" she said as she plopped herself on the sofa, "any ideas on how to pass the time?"

Chokin was considering something, clearly lost in thought then he said, "What sort of thing am I meant to tell the professor anyway?"

"Just answer his questions and it'll be fine" she answered, but she sensed there was more to it "Chokin something's wrong, tell me about it"

Chokin stayed silent for a passing, "In the past I had advantages, advantages that are best left in the shadows until our enemy come into their field of view"

The twinkles, the spark, the warmth in his eyes vanished replaced with the deepest scars that dug infinitely deep. "What enemy? What are you talking about?"

But Chokin appeared deaf to her "They always come, like clockwork, unending. Mercy doesn't stop them, killing doesn't stop them. It's getting better but it's not ending, the idiots who think they can make the world better through violence, and the idiots who use violence to stop the first idiots"

Chokin's anger was now shifting into his skin, tentacles of purple started working their way down his palms. "Chokin?"

"I need… hate to keep the cards hidden, I can't reveal the secrets, the truth. Not my strengths, not my weaknesses and never about that" he continued.

"Chokin, you don't have to tell him anything you don't want to, he'll understand" she said, Chokin blinked, and shadowed his face. The tentacles were disappearing, and his eyes regained their warmth.

"I went dark again didn't I?" he said as if apologising.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Sometimes when us freaks, get angry stuff happens to us. Just it's my demon to deal with, perhaps it would help if I could get my head straight on what I'm going to say" he suggested.

"So, what I ask you questions and you think on whether you actually want to answer?" she asked, Chokin smirked, a twinkle of playfulness remerged themselves in his eyes.

She shrugged it'll help past the time "Okay so what were the other Avatars like?"

"They were pretty different, but for some reason they each had two things that always had in common. All the time, in every life and I don't know why? Possibly a side effect" he answered.

Asami was admittedly curious "what were these things?"

"First was that they'd always seem to be bisexual. I have no idea why" he said.

"Wow", did that mean Korra? She coughed "wow"

Chokin eyed her suspiciously "okay, and the other is their complete lack of respect for other secrets"

"What?"

"It's only natural I suppose, considering that a lot of these people end up being terrorists or something" he answered.

"Does that include Korra?" she asked, Chokin seemed nostalgic as he nodded.

 **Korra**

" _Out fishing, with Asami. Will return once Tenzin has calmed down. Chokin"_ she read of a note she'd found at the docks. Mako had gone home early but Bolin wanted to have a sleepover, and had tactfully asked Pema rather than Tenzin.

"He went fishing, ohhh Tenzin isn't going to be happy" said Bolin.

"When he says he's going fishing he means he's going on some kind of mission" she sighed. That was annoying, she would have liked to help.

"Really, what kind of mission?" asked Bolin, interested "Do you think I can go on the next one?"

"I don't know, I swear he's just making this stuff up as he goes along" she said then something occurred to her.

"Though if he's not here, maybe we can do some investigating into Chokin?" she suggested.

"What why?" asked Bolin "I mean he's our friend, isn't he?"

"He's hiding something, why else would he leave?" demanded Korra.

"Leave?"

"He claims he knew the past Avatars, or at least the really ancient avatars. But not Aang, not Roku and not any Avatar for the last 4000 years" she explained.

"Really? Then why come back now" he asked curiously.

"Good question" she said, walking to Chokin's room.

"Is there anything actually in there?" asked Bolin, as they entered it.

Inside it was relatively untouched only one thing looked out of place, the single hemp bag.

"Ooh I've always wanted a bag like this?" enthused Bolin looking at it "What's it in it?"

As they opened the bag she remembered getting a messenger hawk from Katara, when asking if she knew anything about this spirit, she had mentioned that Chokin had returned an old memento to her before she told him what ship she'd be on.

"Let's take a look" she said opening the bag. Inside there was nothing but papers and a cylinder.

She looked into the cylinder inside was nothing but ash, "Wait is that someone's remains" asked Bolin.

"No there's not enough, plus there appears to be the slightest scrap of paper in it. I think it's just a burnt painting or letter" she explained, Bolin let out a sigh of relief.

"Good cause Mako once told me a ghost story of someone who held the ashes of his victims remains and I couldn't sleep for a week" said Bolin.

"When was this?" she asked curiously.

"A week ago," answered Bolin. Right.

She pulled out one of the papers it appeared to be a letter

 _Chokin_

 _Another Yapos village has been attacked by the Baojun soldiers in the Eastern province. It appears that the general is angry, what should I do?_

 _These people appear so cruel, it's so confusing and you're all the way in the palace. Being the Avatar is so hard, and no one seems to think I'm doing enough._

 _Tai Yuan_

"So, it's true. Chokin really did know me in at least one past life" she said, glad to have confirmation.

"Curious question, whose Tai Yuan?" asked Bolin.

"Don't know, she's not in the history books. And there's no mention of the Yapos or Baojun either. Still it's something" she said.

"Why don't you ask your past lives?" asked Bolin, curiously.

"I've been awful with connecting with them. I just don't know where to start" she sighed "I'll ask Tenzin"

 **A/N: First hints of a past in the Avatar world that hasn't been seen before in this chapter, something I'll definitely expand upon in Book 2.**

 **After both Korra and Kyoshi were eventually revealed to be bisexual I thought it'd be interesting if that was always the case.**

 **Finally does anyone think I'm going a bit overboard with the whole Chokin mystery thing? Leave a review if that's the case or you think it's fine, feedback is always appreciated.**


	10. The Instigator

**The Instigator**

 **Asami**

Professor Jiaoshou had asked them to meet him at his place which was where Asami and Chokin were pulling up to his house. While he was wealthy he was not filthy rich like her family was but he was still very well off. Living in a house rather than an apartment, though nowhere near the size of the Sato Mansion.

As they approached Chokin appeared nervous but he gave sign that he wanted to continue so she knocked on the door. No response. She tried again, and the door shifted ever so slightly open.

"The lock's been broken" she said worried. Chokin looked suspicious, moving into the room with the swiftness of wind. Looking around she was put into shock.

She saw the Professor laid upon the floor with a single hand on his table, in his chest a single bolt. She stood there in shock, simply overwhelmed at the scene, the idea that this could have happened to someone so close to her was terrifying.

While she stood there paralysed, Chokin merely sighed, the tone a mixture of pity and a tinge of relief. She couldn't care right know though "What happened?" she gasped.

"It must have been a non-bender who did it, because they used a weapon" said Chokin, investigating the… body. "Do you want to go and be alone" he asked sympathetically.

"No I want to help" she answered with grim composure, Chokin nodded.

"Here look at the blood, something was here" she said, pointing to the desk. There was a square shaped gap in the pool of blood.

Chokin looked at the desk, "it wasn't a total solid, cause the blood dripped off it. It was probably some sort of paper"

"Last week he'd completed a book on the ethical and practical use of blood bending, it doesn't seem to be here" she answered, when a curious look appeared on Chokin's face "Professor Jiaoshou was never afraid of writing about controversial topics" she explained.

"Since when did blood bending become controversial, in the past it was fine as long as you didn't bend others" he explained.

"Why would you bend your own blood?" she asked, the idea made her skin crawl.

"There was some way to do it to increase your strength and dexterity, it was also used for some spiritual practices" he shrugged "I just thought you said he was studying the ancient Avatars"

"He was" she replied, sadly "but he was never a professor in anything for more than a week, always bouncing between different things"

"Shame, I would love to meet him" Chokin said.

"If this book was stolen, is that why they did this?" she asked.

"Does your Professor have any friends and family or something" he asked, it was a seemingly unimportant but she answered none the less.

"No, he was always nervous in public places, and my Dad had to pay a fortune for him to tutor me at all. Who would have done this?" she asked.

"Someone with power, someone who's entering the public limelight for whatever reason" explained Chokin, "Is there anything else stolen?"

"Not that I can see" she said looking through the rest of his work. The innovations that had inspired so many including herself were still here, then a thought that should have occurred earlier returned, "Shouldn't we call the police"

"I'll continue investigating while you do that I'm almost done" he then dived under the table looking around "and mention Guam as a witness, if he heard anything over the phone the police need to know"

She stumbled to the car, still confused. She failed to actually make it to the car. Now alone she simply slumped onto one of the benches outside and thought. Damn it.

Why him? Why?

It didn't make any sense. What did he do, and why would anyone do this?

 **12 Years Ago**

"Ms Sato are you ready for today's lesson, we should start looking into the use of electromagnets" shouted Professor Jiaoshou, as he entered the room.

"He's early" she squeaked as she darted around her getting her papers, notes and blueprints ready.

"Sorrysorrysorry sir" she squeaked as she rushed down the stairs, "ahhhh"

She had tripped spraying ink and everything around the floor "Oh no"

She stood up with some dignity, ink dripping off her sunflower dress. Jiaoshou looked down at her, her face turned red.

"Would you like to get changed, I think I'm going to need your help with something" he asked.

She nodded, walking back to her room, her feelings around the place. On the one hand she was excited to help the professor on one of his new projects, on the other she wouldn't be an apprentice she would be an echo chamber. He would always call her ideas great, but it was always a lie. It was like admiring a two year old being able to read and write, they just weren't on the same level.

She had changed into another simple dress, this time a sky blue one and walked back down into the living room. Here books and papers had been laid out, with a cup of tea and a small cup of milk for Asami. She plopped herself on the sofa and looked up at the Professor. He was a deeply unkempt man, with an unshaven beard, who wore a jumper and some baggy jeans. It was so strange considering all the well-dressed people she lived with all her life.

For the next fifty minutes they'd got started on the lesson, she had loved all the complicated machines and industries. Her father said it was genetic, Jiaoshou believed it was impossible for that to be passed on through genes and had spent one of her lessons explaining why that was impossible. Then the phone rang.

"Sorry Asami, just read over that while I get it" he answered as he walked to the phone. It was the personal phone that was ringing, the one reserved for just her Father, Mother and herself rather than being directed to a secretary. Though if her parents weren't in Jiaoshou would get it anyway.

"Hello?"

"I had a play I was hoping to get to, I would prefer" he then stopped, his face stopped smiling.

"Is she alright, should I bring Asami?" he said, looking worried, Asami had stopped reading the book.

"Yes of course, just stay with your wife" he said, putting down the phone.

"Asami, it seems your father will be late tonight. Do you want to play a game, instead of studying" he asked, she nodded shyly. Not truly wanting to, but feeling that there must be a reason.

And for the rest of the night they played, several different board games, had a steaming plate of Asami's favourite food (noodles and more noodles). Throughout the night they played talked and had harmless fun, until Asami fell asleep.

But it wasn't harmless, it was only to delay the inevitable.

When she woke her dad had returned, but mom was still missing. Jiaoshou put a hand on her shoulder as she learned the truth, and now 12 years after that horrible day another hand found its way onto her shoulder but this one had three fingers rather than five, and was not that of a lifelong friend but of a spirit.

"This wasn't the first death you've suffered" he said, it was a statement not a question.

"No, I lost my mother when I was six years old" she said, not looking at him.

"Just curious, now I think I have an idea" he said lacking in any empathy or concern.

"Idea? Do you know who killed him" she asked shakily.

"Maybe, but I don't care. I'm only looking to save the living" he said, in a sickly energetic tone.

She didn't say anything, there were no words to describe something so cold and uncaring.

"There's a group that use bloodbending as propaganda, against waterbenders. They may not appreciate the idea it could be useful" he suggested, as he jumped in the car, picking up the radio "You never actually called the police did you?"

She shook her head, so Chokin used the radio to report the incident, she didn't ask where he learned how to use a radio.

"This was organised, so it will happen to others. I don't care about justice, but I can never move on until I do something that will ensure that history doesn't repeat itself" he said, in a sickening upbeat term.

"How?" she asked, as she got up.

"How don't I care? it's simple, it never met him" he said, firmly then he sighed.

"There's more isn't there" she said.

"No" he answered, far too quickly "Now the lead, however slight, is disappearing and I can't drive"

"Yeah okay" she said as she got into the car.

"Are you going to manage?" he asked.

"Managing is very different than being okay" she replied.

"Will you, thumbs up, thumbs down?" he asked, she put her thumb around 75% up.

"Then I have a very slight lead" He held up a flyer, "I read these for fun, they're unbelievably funny"

Looking at it she saw a picture of a masked man, over it plastered in huge words 'The Revelation'

"urmm, not seeing the joke" she replied.

"Really? They think it's their destiny to rid the world of benders, since they're supposedly responsible for all the problems" he said.

"Still not seeing the joke" she said, kind of disgusted by the hate.

"IT'S DELUSIONAL, Ridiculous, contrived. It could have only been written by someone so dumb they actually believe it" he laughed.

She smiled awkwardly, not understanding at all, "guess you have to be my age" replied Chokin.

"Can we stop talking about this" she asked.

"Yeah sorry, just go to this address and we might find something" he said pointing to the map.

"I don't see the connection" she answered, honestly.

"That's fine, it's quite a poor lead. But I once made a connection between a street sign and a massive conspiracy" he said nonchalantly.

"Are you making this up?" she teased.

"Yes"

She sighed in annoyance. "Okay then, you mind telling me why we're headed here instead of talking with the police" she asked, getting sick of his dodging.

"First, this group only accept non-benders. As Jiaoshou was shot, rather than attacked by an elemental attack, it would imply that a non-bender was responsible" he explained.

"Four in five people are non-benders, I don't see how this group are related" she replied.

"B, no wait, second. The crossbow is not a common object, did Jiaoshou have one is his home?"

"I don't think so"

"Then it was most likely brought by the killer. The crime was premediated" he answered "Which means that there was a motive behind the murder"

"Okay, but there are people who hate bloodbenders everywhere, that doesn't make sense" she said.

"But the book was stolen, before it was published. The thief wanted the book, not it destroyed, maybe he or she, hoped to manipulate the book, killing Jiaoshou so he couldn't interfere with that" he answered.

"That's a lot of maybes" she answered.

"Well do you have a better idea?" charged Chokin.

"This… shouldn't I be talking with the police" she asked, now feeling guilty.

"According to this they're having some sort of revelation. Which is worrying" he answered.

"What's so worrying?" she asked.

"It gives them hope, hope that they can do bad things" he said darkly.

 **A/N: If any of you think Chokin's reasoning for suspecting the Equalists is strange, that's because it is. He's actually trying to give Asami some sort of distraction from Jiaoshou's death. I'm mentioning it here, because there's no way to convey that without going through Chokin's perspective. Something I don't want to do until we get some answers.**

 **Also again if you want to know why Chokin's being so cold in regards to the death is that he's gotten used to it. Remember he lived with Humans and not spirits so he would have outlived all of them.**


	11. The Revelation

**The Revelation**

"Well here we are" she said, as they parked a few blocks away from the warehouse "are you sure this is connected to the incident"

"Maybe, maybe not but I've acted on worse leads" Chokin explained "you need to get changed"

"What here?" she asked aghast, "why?"

"Of course not here, you can't blend in looking like yourself. You're somewhat of a celebrity" he answered "If you're going undercover you may wish for something to blend in"

"Well there's a store there I'll get something new" she said.

Five minutes later she returned in a large trench coat, with a scarf and a hat.

"How do I look?" she asked, Chokin looked her up and down.

"Scruffy you'll blend in well" he answered. She had the smallest tinge of pride at the acknowledgement.

"So, if I'm going to blend in, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'll get some answers round the back, if I hear screams I'll bust in" he said, smirking.

"I wouldn't scream" she retorted, only realising afterwards how childish that sounded.

"No, I was referring to the extremist you'll inevitably beat. Unless you have any more of those radios?" he suggested, she smiled and got a box with radios inside and gave him one.

"Probably best we don't use these unless absolutely necessary, you know so it doesn't break our infiltration" she explained.

"Try and stick to the walls, and don't hide the radio. Trying to hide something is far more suspicious than doing it in the open" he explained, she simply nodded to every point "that way they think you're supposed to be doing it"

"Good luck" he said, as one of his arms wrapped their way round the roof of the building as he pulled up.

Okay Asami, this what your life is about now. No more wasting your time on stupid inventions that aren't going anywhere, you've got a mission. You can't let what happened to Jiaoshou happen to anyone else.

There was a queue, several couples stood to enter as they were checked in by a huge, burly bouncer. He looked intimidating, but in the end he just passed Asami through into the building.

Her first thought was simple, somehow this place looked bigger on the inside. The crowds were endless, and the noise was suffocating. No pattern could be discerned among the talk but individual snippets came.

"The Avatar has a spirit now? Since when?"

"Is this is? Has the liberation finally come?"

"The council's forcing through a new bill"

It was painful, and suffocating, she held up the radio desperate to hear a sensible voice. Well sensible was a matter of opinion "Chokin are you there?"

A few moments of scuffle pass until Chokin replies "You just killed the mood of the interrogation you know, now I need a new person to interrogate"

"Sorry, I just got inside where are you" she begged.

"Thinning out guards round back. Where are you?" he asked, her eyes were darting in case someone noticed but everyone just looked at her curiously for a moment then turned away.

"In the rally. It's terrifying" she admitted.

"I know, these people can be scary, but remember one thing" he said.

"What?"

"There's so few of them that you can gather each of them up from the city and stuff them into a single warehouse" he pointed out.

Before she could reply smoke started to rise from the stage, a masked man was elevated along with several guards with balaclava like masks over their faces. The main masked man however wore a mask like that of an opera, donned in a hood.

As he spoke it started to send a chill up her spine "Loyal people of Republic city, I come to you humbled. My name is Amon, and I too know the suffering these monsters inflict on our homes, when I was a boy, a firebender entered our home. He took advantage of my family, every night, until the day my Father stood up to him"

In a way, she felt pity as well as uncertainty. She held up her radio for reassurance from a friend "are you hearing all this?"

"Yep, I'm on the other side of the wall, with a cup on it. Listening in" he explained "This stuff happens no matter the state of the world, it's doesn't make this right"

She put her radio down, and Amon continued "That day I lost my Father and my Mother and then I the firebender destroyed my face. I've been forced to hide behind a mask ever since" continued the masked man. There was a gasping in the audience.

Asami didn't gasp, but her hand clutched into a fist around the radio. She couldn't identify the emotions this speech was instilling in her, but they were powerful.

"As you know the Avatar has arrived in Republic City, companied by a demon of the Spirit world. If she was here she would claim that bending brings balance to the world, but she is wrong. The only thing that bending has brought to this world is suffering. It has been the cause of every war in every era" he continued, every syllable indicted a personal vendetta.

"But that ends today. As you know most spirits act as guardians over our world and they have come to me. They have told me that the Avatar has failed Humanity, and they have given me a gift. From which we can usher in a new era, from which we can make Equality a reality. They have given me the power to take a person's bending away. Permanently"

Gasps and mutterings rippled throughout the audience, she herself began to sink further into the corner of the room. She grasped the radio "Did you hear that?"

"He wouldn't say that if he wasn't going to prove it, but when he does. Look at the eyes, I need to know if they glow" said Chokin, his tone undercut with deadly tension.

"Now please welcome Lightning Bolt Zolt, leader of the Triple Triads and long-time extorter of non-benders. A man the police have never raised a finger to stop" he said, a rupture of anger and taunting erupted towards the tied man with tape around his mouth, whom had been forced into the room. Asami felt a similar surge of anger but remained silent. She had lost her mother to men like him, the man saw no sign of remorse. An Equalist tore the tape off.

"You scum, whatcha playing at" shouted Zolt defiantly but he was sweating in fear.

"Release him"

Zolt was thrown on the floor, his eyes darting around wildly "Look everyone has a price. Mr Amon, sir"

"Pitiful, the leader of the Triple Threat Triads begging, bribing. The scourge of the underworld afraid to fight" taunted Amon, looking him in the eyes.

"Please spare me" begged Zolt, "Please don't take my bending" He was shaking, tears in his eyes. People in the crowd were chanting "EQUALIZE THE TRIADS, EQUALIZE THE AVATAR, EQUALIZE THE WORLD"

Amon grabbed Zolt by the throat and placed a single finger on his forehead, Zolt's eyes started to dart around sporadically but they didn't glow like Chokin asked.

Zolt crumbled to the floor, he attempted to bend back at Amon but he could muster nothing. He then started sobbing pulling at Amon's robes "Give it back, please give it back". Amon responded with a kick that sent Zolt flying.

"With this power we shall unite our brothers and sisters. The Children of the Equalist Revolution your time has come to end the oppression and with this power we will equalize the world" said Amon leading the roars of chants from the crowd.

Unable to take it anymore she snuck into one of the side corridors which was surprisingly empty. She looked up and saw groups of Equalists tied up on the ceiling.

"Did you tie up these people" she asked Chokin over the radio.

"FOCUS ASAMI AND ANSWER THE QUESTION. DID THE EYES GLOW?" screamed Chokin into the radio.

"Right sorry, no they didn't they darted around a lot, but they didn't glow" she replied, surprised at what she considered to be a slight overreaction.

"Okay, then we need to get Zolt out of here, they'll most likely lynch him otherwise" he said, suddenly becoming far more energetic. Asami noticed some piping that must lead into the main building"

"I have a plan, I can break these pipes to make a steam cloud, then you can get in and get Zolt" she replied with an slight reluctance.

She grabbed a spanner from a nearby work table "It might be good if you give me a distraction"

"No problem" came Chokin's reply as she re-entered the main room with the crowds. Stifled in the chants and hate.

"Children of Equality, today marks a new legacy. As the day the oppressed people began their liberation of the world" shouted Amon amid cheers and chants.

"THUMP", a single crack started to etch itself on the wall behind Amon. The cheering stopped as everyone stared at the crack.

"THUMP", it expanded to be wider, some people started running through the crowd towards the door.

"CRASH" Chokin thrust through the wall, immediately grabbing an equalist and slamming him into the floor, then punching one of the others into a wall. Asami suffered a stampede as hundreds started running to the entrance.

"Look at you, and your 'Children of the revolution' running away. I'm here, just me, no one else and your revolution falls apart. This isn't an army, it's a mob." laughed Chokin, not shouting yet somehow still audible above the panic. Some people paused and looked at the spirit. Some hesitantly remained "Hello everyone, I'm Chokin the demon you were talking about. Sorry for interrupting, just wanted to take this man and go and then you can continue lying"

An Equalist responded by grabbing Chokin by the throat, "Such denial. You benders need to face the truth, your time in this world is ending"

"Denial? Your leader can lie to them to instil hope, he can lie to benders to instil fear, he can lie to himself to instil comfort, but he cannot lie to me. I know why he wears the mask, he is what no one wants him to be. Simply Human." continued Chokin, between breathes his eyes fixed upon the slits in Amon's mask.

It was at this moment Asami broke through the piping releasing steam into the air masking, so thick she could cut through it with a knife. She couldn't see anything in the fog, and neither could the Equalists.

Fumbling on the walls for direction she started to follow them towards the door, the stampede and people started getting out of the room. As she exited the building she found her arm grabbed by an Equalist, to which she responded with a kick that sent him to the floor.

"Get her, she's with the demon" came another voice, as several Equalists came running towards her.

"Let her go" came a voice rippling in cold fury, standing above on the steps to the warehouse was Amon.

Nobody moved, "Why hesitate little girl, you didn't upon that dam. Run. Run to your Avatar, tell her she will be normal soon"

There was something suppresive about his voice but she still had a single ounce of defiance "And what about Jiaoshou? Why did he die?" she shouted.

The masked eyes became slits "Your father was responsible for his death. He had offered to do his duty to the cause, but has abandoned it. It was no fault but his"

Dad was an Equalist? No there was no way. It had to be some sort of trick.

Chokin appeared carrying Lightening Bolt Zolt on his shoulder "Asami we should go, fighting here won't do any good"

She wanted to retort, but in the end she simply prepared the car, Chokin however remained where he was "I have message for you too Amon, and I'm willing to say it in person. No matter how cornered you think you are, no matter how far you go. I'm always ready to forgive, there is no point in this war, I'm always ready to end it"

With that they left, Zolt confessed to his crimes at the police station, as he could not scare the underworld into submission with his bending anymore. The way back was silent until they reached the dock, where Korra, Mako, Bolin, Tenzin and two dozen White Lotus guards stood around looking at a map.

"Where were you? We just formed a search part" said Korra pulling Chokin into a hug, Bolin did the same with Asami.

While Asami hugged back, Chokin just stood there awkwardly. "You care about me that quickly?" he mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Korra, not hearing.

"Nothing, we've got a problem. We infiltrated the Equalist organisation" explained Chokin, "their leader can take people's bending away"

"That's impossible, only the Avatar can do that" stammered Tenzin.

"Who told you that nonsense?" asked Chokin towards the grim composure.

"I must go to the city council at once" said Tenzin, as started storming down the street.

Things had changed in Republic City and it was unclear if they would ever return to the way they were.

 **A/N: The Equalists start to begin moving, but the answer here will be a lot different than canon, though the next chapter might be a friends day out with the whole of team Avatar. Could people please be sure to give me feedback on how I handle each of the characters if they have time it's always great to hear feedback**


	12. The Next Day

**The Next Day**

 **A/N: This chapter gets political. You are forewarned, also bear in mind this is Chokin's political views, not necessarily my own. By the way I can spell if anyone's wondering, it's simply slurred speech. Sorry if it's difficult to read.**

 **Korra**

"The 2068th Team Avatar meeting is now in order" said Chokin, placing a stack of papers on the table "What's the first thing we should talk about?"

"Perhaps why you wanted us here, you haven't told us much" grumbled Mako, Korra silently agreed.

Chokin rubbed his eyes impatiently "Of course not, my mistake" He stopped rubbing his eyes and turned towards Team Avatar "With Amoy taking people's bending away we need to get a game plan together, find out how he's doing this and how we're going to stop people from wanting this to happen again"

Naturally the only thing one could reply to such expectations was with the question "Amoy?"

"A stupid nickname for a stupid person" explained Chokin unconcerned.

"Didn't you call a bunch of spirits similar nicknames" replied Asami.

"Exactly, stupid names for stupid spirits. Except for one, that spirit seemed to like the nickname. No idea why" he shrugged, as if it was obvious.

Bolin stuck up his hand, as if in a school class "erm yes Bolin" said Korra awkwardly.

"What about Aang? He managed to take the Fire Lord's bending, didn't he?" said Bolin, he did have a point.

"He did?" said Chokin, looking impressed.

"That's true" said Mako.

"But when he did it, it created a light as bright as the comet. That didn't happen here, Zolt's eyes didn't even glow" said Asami.

"Which means it must be something else" said Chokin.

"He said that the spirits gave him the power, didn't he?" asked Asami.

"You think I did it?" asked Chokin, amused.

"No, but maybe some other spirit did" she suggested.

"Most cannot, and those that can are the few smart ones who wouldn't" explained Chokin "but I'll check"

"But the question is what are we going to do about it" asked Mako.

"Isn't it obvious, I've got to find Amon and teach him a lesson" answered Korra, "he won't be able to take people's bending in a jail cell"

"Or kill people as an example" said Asami.

"It did work for Aang" pointed out Bolin innocently. As over the phone he picked up for some reason.

"And it's what he deserves" continued Mako.

"And will solve nothing" interrupted Chokin, "Amon's a symptom of the bigger problem, not the cause. There's a reason non-benders like him exist, there's a reason he's so appealing. I want to end that reason, then if he's stubborn I'll put him in a jail cell. Plus, he'll just break out"

"Then what do you suggest, we can't just do nothing" she said.

"Who says we can't" answered Chokin, as if the idea was reasonable

But it wasn't reasonable, it was wrong "I need to do something, people are suffering, and I can't just stand aside"

Chokin sighed, "this is exactly what always happens, every time. It's stupid, once some terrorist group does something unbelievably stupid, the guys angry at those terrorists overreact. But at the end of the day, the terrorists can't win"

"But they can take our bending away, they want to take all of our bending away. Does that not terrify you?" she shouted.

"There are one billion benders in this world, the number of Equalists whom can take away their bending is one" pointed out Chokin.

"If there's even one person in danger it's a problem" demanded Korra.

Chokin sighed in frustration "Wrong, boiling water endangers lives, your new electricity endangers lives, mouse-bats endanger lives. We can live with a few threats in our world"

"So, what was the point of this meeting then if we're just not going to do anything?" demanded Korra.

Chokin looked at her with infuriating patience "We are going to figure out how to solve this problem for good, rather than kicking the problem into the next generation"

"Then what should I do?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I do know what will make the problem worse" said Chokin.

She dug her nails into her chair only for someone to knock at the door Bolin jumped up with excitement "Ohh the lunch Is here"

"When did you order Lunch?" asked Mako.

"While Korra and Chokin were arguing, these guys have fast service" explained Bolin rushing down the door.

Chokin and Korra looked at each other somewhat guiltily. Then followed Bolin to the bottom of the attic as he received five boxes and several bottles of something.

Each box had the symbols 'Soba' written on them. Opening them revealed was a steaming pile of hot noodles with a side of what appeared to be roast turtle-duck.

"My favourite" enthused Asami as she dug into the food "and I don't have to pay this time. Sometimes I feel like a walking bank account"

"Oh no, you finally got us" said Mako sarcastically.

"Hmm we don't have anything like this from the Southern Water Tribe" Korra said, picking it with her chopsticks with hesitation.

"You missing out" said Asami.

"Bolin why do the drinks say you have to be over 16?" asked Mako.

"Not a problem for me" said Chokin, as he took a sip from the drink.

"Huh? They made a mix up, they gave us Sake by mistake. It's slightly alcoholic…." said Bolin, reading the label.

"PFFFFT" Chokin spat the Sake right into Korra.

"Could you watch it next time" she shouted, annoyed as she waterbent it out of her hair and clothes.

Chokin's eyes had gone wide as he store at the label.

"Oh no"

"THUMP"

Chokin had slammed directly into the table having seemingly lost control of his body.

"Chokin?" she asked.

"Yeesh?" he responded in a drunken slur.

The rest of Team Avatar looked at each other with concern.

"Chokin, are you okay?" asked Asami.

"Noope, I'mm noot ookay" he continued his body practically comatose, it was sinking into the table…. Literally!

"Chokin's what's going on. You're melting" said Korra, panicking as everyone tipped over their chairs and food in the rush to help.

"Hic… whhen mee drunk mmy skel-hic myy skel-hic mmy bosnes meltz" slurred Chokin.

"Ooooh, why didn't you tell us you were the wicked witch of the spirits" begged Bolin, as Chokin's situation became more desperate.

"Hic, thats ah goot one" snorted Chokin "Juss need to rest forr twensy minutes"

"How much did he drink?" asked Mako, in disbelief of the effect.

"Less than a mouthful? I guess it must be stronger for spirits" suggested Bolin confused, examining the bottle.

"II'm nott a sspirit, Donn't coll me that" slurred Chokin, punching his fists at Bolin. Clearly forgetting he wasn't a bender "huhhh why isnt ittt wurking"

Mako, Asami and Korra attempted to move Chokin but it was easier said than done. Trying to lift him was like trying to hold slime. Chokin's mass simply melted through her fingers.

"Why does he hate spirits so much?" asked Bolin, rushing to help but finding himself equally unable to help.

"I dont hate aal zpirits, theres oone I like. I like herr a lot" slurred Chokin, his face turning a more navy blue. Wait did this mean?

Korra looked at Asami who flashed an evil grin while Bolin looked incredibly happy at the lover's confession. Only Mako showed signs of hesitation.

"What's her name" asked Korra, interested in Chokin's love life.

"SHHH, don't tell Korrra" he slurred.

"But I am Korra" she replied, suddenly worried, please don't tell me.

"Youcant tell Korrra cus ef you tell herr, she'll know" slurred Chokin. Oh spirits no.

"Is it Korra you have a crush on Chokin?" asked Asami with an infuriating smirk across her face. Over Chokin's shoulder Korra drew a finger across her neck in her direction.

"Dont bee slly, shes a frend" he slurred. Korra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Oh, thank the spirits "Ets Raava I has a crussh on"

"Who's Raava?" asked Bolin fascinatingly excited. Chokin was about to answer, but then his body returned to its natural colour.

"Ow my head. What happened?" asked Chokin, his slur gone. He morphed back to his regular form, clutching his head.

"What?" gasped Mako, stunned at his recovery.

"You were drunk, do you not remember" asked Korra, equally stunned.

"That would explain it, from the moment I stopped drinking the drink, I'm stone dead drunk for exactly twenty minutes then I'm fine. Except for a small case of amnesia" he said clutching his reformed head "I also lose control of my shapeshifting abilities"

"So that's why you melted" continued Mako.

"Yep, so what happened when I was drunk?" asked Chokin innocently.

The rest of Team Avatar looked at each other, then nodded. He wasn't getting out of here without an answer.

"You mentioned a spirit called Raava… and how you liked her" said Asami, devilishly.

Chokin eyes rounded in surprise, his jaw hung in horror as he backed away in fear. Then suddenly he shouted, "LOOK IT'S AMON"

Only Bolin looked to where Chokin was pointing, but he was the only one. Everyone else's gaze was locked on Chokin. Chokin was now sweating "LOOK IT'S TENZIN"

Nobody looked.

"LOOK A DISTRACTION" shouted Chokin in one last desperate attempt.

Surprisingly no one fell for that either.

"So, we're not going to allow you to leave until you answer the question" said Korra, cheekily.

"Errmmmm. Raava is… errr" stammered Chokin his face a dark navy blue his hand rubbing the back of his neck. Eventually his head fixed itself looking at the floor "The Avatar is a fusion of a spirit and a human. Raava is the name of the spirit half" he squeaked.

Korra's smile dropped to a frown, then one of horror. Oh no, no, that would never work.

"So you understand why it would A, never work, and B, should never be mentioned again" said Chokin, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yep"

"Definitely"

"I told them not to pry"

"But when love is real it fin-"

"SHUT UP BOLIN" shouted both Korra and Chokin, which silenced Bolin.

"And with that the 2068th Team Avatar meeting is over" shouted Chokin, picking up the papers and running out the room.

 **A/N: This is Chokin's most awkward secret, revealed. In the worst way, tell what you think of this pairing if you want. They'd obviously never become a full on couple, but there could be a moment somewhere down the line if Raava and Korra got separated.**


	13. An Opportunity

**An Opportunity**

 **Korra**

Chokin had understandably gone on ahead to Air Temple Island, most likely to escape the tense atmosphere. So Korra was on her personal ferry that the White Lotus prepared very much alone, this was after pro-bending training which had been rescheduled to be in the much less evil afternoon, after Tenzin complained to the owners of the arena.

When arriving upon Airtemple Island all the candles were out except the one in the dining hall. She guessed that the family must be waiting for her before eating dinner. This became especially clear as the clear words "WE'RE HUNGRY" by voices very similar to Meelo and Ikki were audible from the dock. This forced Korra to break into a run before their tantrum started to devolve into a hurricane.

Bursting into the room she started to stammer "sorry, Tenzin, pro-bending practice went on forever, then the-"But then she noticed that a new person was in the room. Amid Tenzin whom had his head in his hands in embarrassment, Jinora whom seemed to be shooting daggers at her siblings and Pema who was wrestling with the youngest of her children, there was another man.

This man was tactfully ignoring the screams of the other children and waited with a somewhat entitled smirk on his face. One that simply loved the torment that Tenzin was in.

After a small silence she decided to address the elephant in the room "erm who are you?"

The man chuckled, Korra didn't know what the joke was "I am a member of the city council, Avatar Korra on behalf of the Northern Water Tribe. My name is Tarrlock"

The man certainly looked water tribe, with his three ponytail hairstyle, the abundance of fur in his clothes and the prevalence of the colour blue in his outfit. He held himself with a complete professionalism that befits that of a Chieftain.

"Oh… hello" she replied awkwardly.

"We were just waiting for you" explained Pema kindly finally abandoning the fight against the hungry children.

"Yes, and Tarrlock here will only be staying for dinner" Tenzin stated firmly.

"Not so fast here Tenzin I would love to talk to Avatar Korra here" said Tarrlock, nodding towards Korra. The use of her title continuously caught her off guard, she'd only been called it during reprisal before now.

As Korra sat down she noticed that Tarrlock's eyes were fixed upon hers, meanwhile Chokin was nowhere to be seen. "I have to personally thank you for dealing with that spirit problem"

(wait was he referring to Chokin?)

"If that Spirit had actually managed to destroy the dam I'm sure our tax payers wouldn't have been happy to have wasted millions" he continued.

(Duh. Idiot)

"It was mostly Chokin actually, he's the one who defeated Pabu" she explained modestly.

"Nonsense, it was you who created that other Waterfall allowing the compromise to be struck" he complimented, Korra simply rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Now Korra I am assuming you've heard about this masked man whose been terrorising the underworld. I think we can both agree he has to be stopped" he said, punching the table with enthusiasm.

"Of course, In fact I just was having a Team Avatar meeting about it" she continued, the last part slipping out.

"Is that so, did you decide anything in it?" asked Tarrlock earnestly intrested.

"Unfortunately we decided nothing" she replied glumly.

Tarrlock had no loss of enthusiasm "Then permit me to make a suggestion. The city council has just recently approved my plan for a task force to take the fight to Amon, and I would be honoured if you would join it"

An opportunity to do something, to not stay copped up doing nothing, to act and fight. What more could she ask for? "Of course, when do you want me?"

Tarrlock smiled, a large genuine smile, "Our first meeting is tomorrow at six, at City Hall, and be sure to have your friends come too. They're invited"

"No, Korra still needs to master airbending, until she has done that no arrangement can be taken" interrupted Tenzin, desperately.

"Tenzin the city needs me now, Amon's a threat to every bender in the city, and non-benders as well. I think airbending should be put on hold" she explained.

"But-"stammered Tenzin, unable to muster a point.

"I would have thought you, more than anyone would respect the Avatar's judgement, Tenzin" intruded Tarrlock. To which Tenzin shot daggers at Tarrlock.

"Tenzin, I'll find time to practice airbending, even if I have to lose sleep. But I have a responsibility to the city which is far more important than learning airbending" she explained, eventually Tenzin sighed.

For the rest of the evening Tarrlock engaged in small talk about a wide range of topics including pro-bending, the white lotus, airbending training and her Avatar duties. She could tell Tarrlock was a man of action, quite unlike either Tenzin or Chokin. Which earned him, her respect.

When he left it was well after sundown and she had decided she had headed to bed. When she arrived in her room she'd noticed that a new bed a been provided, most likely by Chokin.

As she lay in the bed, after mediating for a bit in a futile attempt to connect to her past lives, she realised that she never actually asked Chokin or any of the others what they thought about this. Out of all of them though she was most worried about Chokin's reaction, for he was the least likely to approve.

 **The Next Day**

Chokin had still not turned up, since the meeting. And she was starting to get worried, the last time he'd disappeared he'd ended up infiltrating the Equalist Meeting with Asami. When she used the telephone, after being explained how to by Ikki, she had asked the other team Avatar members to meet at the City Hall for 6 o'clock. They had agreed to meet at City Hall, though Korra was worried that if Chokin didn't turn up before six she might end up having to ask Tarrlock for help searching for him.

But her fears were unfounded as Chokin turned up just after her airbending training.

"Hey" he said awkwardly.

"Oh there you are. I was getting worried. Where were you?" she asked, curious.

"I was just" then he sighed, "hiding, I just- let's pretend whatever happened last night didn't happen"

"What happened last night?" she replied, then she frowned "I thought we'd already agreed that" or at least implied it.

"oh did we?" asked Chokin rubbing his eyes "Can't remember"

"You seem tired" she said concerned.

"I can't get tired" he replied bluntly "but this gig is a whole lot harder than when I left"

"Yeah, this is getting overbearing. Between these Equalists, Pro-bending and Airbending training it's all becoming too much" she replied, she hadn't admitted this to anyone. But everything was piling up, even at the White Lotus Compound with all the history lessons, bending lessons and spiritual lessons they didn't seem to compare.

"My problems are of a different kind" admitted Chokin, sitting down, "it used to be that everyone would ask for my approval before doing anything. Got really annoying, yet now I have to piece where exactly things are in the cycle"

"Cycle which cycle is this?" she asked.

"Cycle of violence, do you think Amon is the first guy to have tried something like this?" he asked, smiling in a whimsical way.

"You mean there are others whom had the power to take people's bending away, and used it to inspire an anti-bending revolution?" she asked sceptical.

"Maybe not in the details, but do you know who the first Combustion Bender was?" he asked.

A beat passed "The first Combustion bender turned up during the hundred-year war, didn't he?"

Chokin shook his head "Similar to bloodbending, it existed before but was forgotten. Come to think of it, perhaps it was me leaving that caused all that knowledge to be lost. I am the spirit of progress after all"

"If that were the case how could technology progress when you were in the spirit world?" she asked.

"Oh, right" he said, disappointed "anyway the first combustion bender was a man called Huo Chaoji. He discovered it by accident, and noticed that it channelled through his head, as it is normally the part of the body closest to the sun. He therefore believed it was a sign by the sun and flame spirits that he was a prophet, one who would establish permanent fire bending supremacy"

"Sounds familiar, in more ways than one" she answered.

"Yep, from the sounds of it, it was that kind of thinking that justified Sozin's war. Chaoji's rhetoric became radicalized in the suffering of the fire benders, so it became popular. He eventually started attacks on other more moderate fire benders. Clearly he needed to be stopped. So me and the Avatar fought to deal with him" he answered. She didn't like the dark undertone.

"Wait did you ki-"

"Of course we didn't try to kill him. We were going to capture to be imprisoned for life. But at the end of the day, both him and I were unconscious, the room was filling with lava and your past life could only save one of us" snapped Chokin.

"Oh… do you blame yourself?" she asked, concerned, the more she learned the more she saw why he would have left. The most chilling was the casualness in which he spoke, as if it was normal.

"I did, but survivor's guilt got old over time, and it eventually just stopped affecting me by the 50th time. But that's not the point, the point is that I didn't care about those who followed him. I just saw fire bender supremists, and once Chaoji died, they shut up. That doesn't make them satisfied though" he continued.

"Why would you care how they feel?" asked Korra.

"Because there's no man in this world that I pity more, than one who lives without hope. We need hope, and when those people lost it they'll look for any source. Like how a man deprived of food will resort to cannibalism, a man deprived of hope will resort to radicalism. You can't judge either for man for surviving, yet both can be addicting" said Chokin darkly, "and once an addiction is placed, it must be addressed not ignored. When Chaoji died I assumed it was gone, I was wrong, it resurfaced less than sixty years later, and again another twenty years later, then it continued until the longest war in history was fought over it" explained Chokin, "that's why I care, and despite the fact that I could, I won't just stop Amon"

Korra would have loved to discuss this more, or rather argue, it was getting too late. "Sorry Chokin, but I need to be somewhere" it would have been rude to keep Tarrlock waiting.

Chokin raised an eyebrow "Am I not invited?" he asked shrewdly.

Chokin would be upset if she told the truth, it was exactly what he didn't want her to do. But she had already agreed to Tarrlock, more than that she couldn't see much point in not stopping Amon. Not that she had ignored what he'd said, but surely it made more sense to help these people after Amon was dealt with.

Still Chokin was expecting an answer and if she told him the truth, he'd stop her breaking her promise to Tarrlock, "it's um…"

"Is it a date?" he asked bluntly.

"NO" she retorted, aghast.

"I'm messing with you Korra, go wherever you like, you can take care of yourself" he said walking off smiling.

She was shocked, no one, not Tenzin, not the White Lotus, not even Katara had trusted her to go anywhere without detailing where she was going first. It was why she'd always sneak out. Walking onto the ship she felt slightly touched by his trust, but guilt filling her. She could not shake the feeling that she was somehow betraying that trust.

Amon however needed to be stopped, as soon as possible. The fate of Republic City, and potentially the world hung in dealing with Amon. Even if she wasn't the Avatar, she had a duty to stop men like that, the feelings of a single spirit therefore don't really compare.

 **A/N: So in this chapter I feel that I should clarify a notion that might confuse some people. In the Avatar world, if you suggest you're going to kill, you're a bad guy. That's been a sort of rule defining good guys and bad guys. The reason I bring this up is that in a realistic scenario, Chokin would actually be advocating to merely imprison Amon, while Korra would say he deserved to die. But that's too dark for the Avatar universe, not that I have some very harsh stuff planned.**

 **Also I would say that this chapter was the first direct story of something that happened with the Ancient Avatars. The story I think should give some insight to why Chokin will actually not fight many of the antagonists in the fic, because he always looks for the long term solution. Though that's also going to be his biggest flaw, he cares too much about the bigger picture that he often will alienate the struggles of his friends.**

 **Finally I LOVE feedback, so here are some questions I hope you can answer for me.**

 **How are you enjoying the story?**

 **How are you enjoying Chokin's character?**

 **Am I doing the mystery regarding Chokin's past well or am I bludgeoning it over the head?**

 **Any suggestions?**


	14. Combat

**Combat**

Riding Naga up to City Hall, her mind calmed. It made no sense that Chokin to get really mad for catching criminals. Hadn't he helped do that the day they arrived in Republic City?

At City Hall guards were stationed implying a meeting that was to be held in private, but the rest of Team Avatar remained outside the place huddled together.

"Korra" squealed Bolin as she dismounted Naga, Korra felt some huge arms wrap around her waist.

"Bolin, it has literally been less than a day since you last met" said Mako, "You've already crushed Asami. Do you really need to choke Korra too?"

Bolin pulled back awkwardly "I'm sorry, I just like hugs". Korra proceeded to give a quick, more moderate hug.

"So the way I see it, we're going to become super spies" enthused Bolin, holding imaginary glasses.

"Something like that" came Tarrlock's voice, walking up to them he then bowed politely "A pleasure to meet you Team Avatar, my name is Councilman Tarrlock"

"A pleasure sir" replied Asami, bowing ever so formally. She clearly had the most experience in dealing with people like Tarrlock, "I am Asami Sato"

Tarrlock bowed in equal formality, then turned to Mako who flustered, "hello… um sir…. Tarrlock… I- I"

Korra sighed, this was getting annoying "The person here whom apparently forgot his own name is Mako". Tarrlock frowned, yet the frown appeared fake as satisfaction still remained on his face. Before Korra could figure out the paradoxical face Bolin interrupted.

"And I'm Bolin, pro-bender and master fire ferret trainer. Now I have some ideas on how we can improve morale in this task force" shaking Tarrlock's hand far too enthusiastically, meanwhile a list appeared from nowhere "Now I was suggesting that we get a herd of polar bear-dogs as-"

"I actually already have a lead to investigate for our first meeting" said Tarrlock, taken aback and pulling away from Bolin's handshake.

Now leading the four of them inside the hall, he directed them down the building into the basements. Around she could see at least fifteen different people, all of whom were clad in a metal plate armour.

"Where can we get some of that armour?" asked Mako, his eyes gleaming. Hmm.

"Ahh, of course that is standard issue, for all law enforcement. Though the variant you'll be using won't have the hooks that most police officers use given, unless any of you are metal benders?" he asked, too which they all shook their heads. Bolin looking slightly upset for some reason.

"hmm, I will have to have the Chief of Police prepare metal bending lessons for you in the future, Korra" suggested Tarrlock. Oh spirits no.

"That sounds great but it'll have to wait until Amon is dealt with right" she said, too which he smiled.

"I suppose you are correct, but these suits will be just as useful. They'll protect you from Chi-blocking which we have found to be common among Amon's troops, also as a safety measure they consist of two layers of different metals, the outer one is made of platinum rather than steel to protect you against evil metal benders, the inner is steel so that metal benders can still manipulate the armour to their advantage" he explained holding the chest plate.

It had been a challenge to don the armour, Korra herself was not used to anything beyond the basic furs of the Water tribe. In the end though she did manage to successfully equip the armour, though imperfectly as much of the armour was hardly what one would call secure. Asami and Mako had more skill and had equipped his armour properly. Bolin had somehow got his armour on backwards, though they soon managed to get him sorted out.

They were then led towards a meeting table in which everyone was seated.

"Okay everyone, according to reliable sources, the Chang Yun dojo is actually a front for Equalists to learn Chi-blocking. Which was made illegal under the Republic Defence Act meaning that we just need to catch them in the act" explained Tarrlock, with a coy smirk.

"Why?" asked Mako.

"Excuse me?" asked Tarrlock, with an unnecessary amount of anger.

"Why is Chi-blocking illegal, isn't it just like bending in a way?" asked Mako, but clearly unsure of himself.

"Don't be ridiculous boy, this is a weapon against benders. Nothing alike at all" he answered coldly.

"Can't it also be used for medicine though?" interrupted one of the other members.

"But it can't do anything that water healing can't do" intruded another member.

"It doesn't matter, if those people are Equalists then we interfere. Regardless of the morality of Chi-blocking" she said, before it devolved into a riot

"Now the plan is simple, we want to grab as many Equalists as possible so we'll be going under the cover as firemen and sewage maintenance, as we believe that the Equlaists have escape routes in the tunnels. Earthbenders will go into these tunnels with Officer Cubabo and seal them, trapping the Equalists inside, meanwhile firebenders and waterbenders will be with me and the Avatar. The dojo's in the basement but has windows to the surface that we can break through, I wouldn't be surprised if they had some kind of alarm if we entered the doorway" explained Tarrlock "Try and take them alive, I don't want the Equalists spinning this into a sob story, even if that's what they deserve. Any questions?"

Asami put up her hand "what about me?"

"Weren't you listening, if you're a firebender or waterbender then you're with me, if you're an earthbender you're with Cubabo" he explained tersely.

"But I'm a non-bender" pointed out Asami.

"What is she doing here" asked Tarrlock, shooting daggers at Asami.

"Korra invited me to be here" she replied, tersely.

"That's not a problem is it" she asked, firmly.

Tarrlock's eyes were slits, darting between Korra and Asami, he seemed in a personal struggle until he answered through gritted teeth "No of course not. You stay with…us"

As most of the Task Force exited the building Korra tapped Asami by the shoulder "If he's, going to be like that-"she started

"No, it's ok Korra" she said.

"No it's not" Korra replied firmly "and I'm not staying on this task force if one of my friends endures that sort of attitude"

"No Korra, I'll deal with it. It's worth it to be able to fight Amon and those Equalists" she said, with a determined look on her face.

 **Chang Yun Dojo**

She was on the side of the truck, hanging on to the railings on the side. Her armour disguised under a leather fireman's uniform. In front of her was Mako, similarly dressed, while Asami was in the passenger seat given that Tarrlock was wanting to 'keep an eye on her'.

Meanwhile Bolin was in the tunnels under the city working with the other earthbenders to trap the Equalists. Approaching the dojo she viewed inside, there was only one man wearing Equalist armour the others were merely practicing Chi-blocking in normal clothing.

Tarrlock gave another signal, to bring forward the water barrels. Korra started to bend water into a spear in preparation to strike, to her left Mako was cupping a fireball and to her right Asami was digging her nails into the ground.

"NOW"

Glass shattered as half a dozen officers burst into the building, Korra threw her water spear into the only armoured Equalist and froze him against the wall. Mako's fireball ended square in one of the novices chested blasting him into his own punching bag. Asami delievered a roundhouse kick into another novice.

Another four Equalists were taken down by the other Task force members but three remained running towards the tunnel.

"After them" she shouted as Team Avatar pursed them into the tunnels. Smoke bombs were thrown down in a desperate attempt to slow them down yet it was futile, the team ran through with only a minor cough.

One of the novices turned back and managed to get a punch on Mako, he fell down but wasn't hurt. He was already getting back up, while Asami deliver a full punch into the novice's stomach. Korra pressed on towards the other two.

"Oh no no no no no" moaned one of the novices as they approached the end of the tunnel which had been sealed off by the task force's earthbenders.

The pause had been enough as Korra threw a stream of fire into the Equalist's back, with enough force to shove him into the wall. The final Equalist had thrown several explosives into the rock, causing it to crumble. The Equalist jumped through only for a boulder to hit him mid jump.

"GOTHCA" shouted Bolin, fists in the air with excitement.

Bolin and Korra proceeded to wrap the Equalists in Earth so that they wouldn't be able to escape and lifted them towards the dojo. Along the way they met several Task Force members whom took the prisoners off their hands.

Exiting the dojo she was blinded by repeating flashing lights as what appeared to be hundreds of reporters all taking pictures. And placing a thousand demands upon her.

"Is the Avatar an official member of the police now?"

"Is this an endorsement of Tarrlock's attitude towards non-benders?"

"When can we expect to see you face Amon?"

The questions went on and on, none of the reporters giving her any time to respond to the interrogations, however eventually she managed to get out "Please one at a time"

The reporters became slightly more civil eventually they started putting their hands up and shutting up, she eventually pointed towards a women in the front.

"Avatar Korra, how much of a threat does Amon present to the benders of this city?" asked the reporter.

"I believe he presents… a very real and dangerous threat" she answered timidly, without really thinking.

Reporters were scribbling notes on their notepads, another though had already risen his hand "How did you know that this place was an Equalist training centre?"

"Ummm" that was a good question. How did Tarrlock find out? She looked towards him, he gave her a look stating 'answer this for me'. Already the notepads were being scribbled on with great ferocity, she needed to answer "It was thanks to Councilman Tarrlock that were able to find the Equalist hideout"

Tarrlock had swelled in pride and smiled infuriatingly. "Any other questions" she asked, timidly.

Another hand rose "why have you not fought with Amon yet?"

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Why have you been hiding from Amon and not faced him yet? Surely as the Avatar it is your responsibility to face him?" the reporter pressed.

"Erm". Why? Well how could she? Chokin wouldn't let her anyway, besides she didn't know where Amon was. But these people, they demanded an answer "I'll tell you why. Because Amon is a coward and afraid to fight me. I'll be at the statue of Aang tomorrow at midnight, and I'll expect him there to face me, alone, if he's man enough"

Screams and shouts erupted at this, even Tarrlock looked concerned while Asami, Bolin and Mako looked as if she was out of her mind but she was determined.

 **A/N: I can't wait for the next chapter, I intend to reveal something big in it. In this chapter you might have noticed that Chokin was barely in it. The reason for this is twofold, one it would break his character, Chokin is only motivated to save people, not defeat bad people, because he doesn't believe he has the right to judge. But the second reason is that I don't want Chokin to be too focused on.**

 **PS: Please review, I LOVE reviews.**


	15. The Fifth

**The Fifth**

 **The Next Day**

She was a ball of nerves, her every thought, every sight reminded her about her upcoming battle with Amon. She couldn't back out now, yet the thought of her bending going, becoming little more than a shell of an Avatar terrified her.

Her breakfast therefore remained untouched, with Korra merely picking at it. Tenzin was nowhere to be seen, for which she was grateful. He would most likely tell her to back out, but to do so now would be pathetic, not to mention all the people she'd let down.

A newspaper slid under her, on the front a picture of her, Tarrlock, Asami, Bolin, Mako and the Task force members. Standing proudly with the arrested Equalists tied up.

"Should I cancel pro-bending practice tonight, or are you still going to be able to make it" someone asked, rhetorically.

She looked up and Chokin was now sat opposite her, and was not happy.

"Look Chokin I- "she started, Chokin held up his hand.

"I'll debate the going behind my back and deliberately sabotaging my efforts for improvement later, because you're in a challenge and cannot back out without showing strength. Something we cannot allow" he explained.

"That's tru- wait no. It's the other way around" she spluttered.

"No it isn't. Now Amoy will likely have a handful of other guys there as well. He won't play fair, all he needs to do is beat you then he wins" he said seriously, full of concern.

"Well I can take them no problem, its Amon, I'm worried about" she answered, then her voice became much less professional, unable to look Chokin in the eye she asked "how do you manage without your bending?"

Chokin looked at her annoyed "I don't know, nor care"

That wasn't helpful. The bending she took for granted seemed all the more essential now that it was at risk of being lost forever.

"Any advice?" she begged.

"Eat" he replied moving the bowl towards her.

 **Five minutes to Midnight**

She was pacing the inside of the statue's base. Her friends were on the island, but she refused to let them anywhere near the statue. It was her fight, not anyone else's.

The clock was ticking, every second took a minute to pass, every minute took an hour. Her ears were stretched, desperately trying to identify any sound of movement from the Equalists that just had to be there, somewhere, somewhere in the shadows.

It was raining. Outside was a muddle quagmire. Every drop of rain only reflected the stillness of the air… the calm before the storm.

Midnight… nothing. It was unnerving. Yet she knew they were here. Chokin had warned of a double cross.

A step. She threw flames in the direction of the sound.

Nothing.

Water dripped from the roof. She looked up. Explosives, wrapped into the wall.

She backed away. It was a trap.

"GAAAAAH" she screamed, electricity was cursing through her veins. Her muscles were seizing in pure agony.

In spite of the pain she brought two fingers to the source, guided it towards her stomach, then out towards the man holding her.

Lightning sprung from her finger tips into the Equalist's body. His fingers slipped, and she broke free.

Five Equalists appeared, some with gloves, others with bolas, she threw a stream of fire. They backed off, one threw their bolas but she split the rope with water.

Others jumped forward attempting to grab her with the gloves. She responded with a boulder of earth in one of the Equalist's chest, and ducked the other attacks.

She erupted fire, at another one who crumbled, and pulled in a pillar of earth that struck another Equalist from the side.

"THUMP" a punch hit her in her stomach

Amon. His Mask was shadowed. He towered over Korra, she noticed the other Equalists were scrambling out of the room.

"You were supposed to come alone" she yelled.

"You needed to be tested" he said, the voice so menacing that it sent Goosebumps up her spine.

She pulled the earth under him, but Amon simply jumped off the pillar of rock landing right in front of her.

She threw water, yet somehow even at point blank range, she couldn't hit him.

"Pathetic" mocked Amon, grabbing Korra's arm and swinging her into a column. She smashed against it, but immediately pushed through the pain.

She thrust her arms forward, erupting a maelstrom of flames which finally pushed Amon to lose his footing, which she responded with an earth trip.

Amon dug his feet in the ground and remained upright, though his stumble was all Korra needed to freeze his arm to another column.

"Whose pathetic now, chump?" she said, preparing two new fireballs, drawing in on the man.

"THWACK" she was slammed into the floor. Amon's hand broken free and had punched her into the side of her jaw.

Amon was examining his arm, giving Korra time to scramble to her feet.

"Is this all the Avatar has to offer?" he chided.

She charged forward, throwing boulders at Amon, he dodged the first. But the second grazed him in the jaw.

But she had gotten too close. Amon swung in and caught her by the throat.

She wheezed and spluttered, straining against the grip. But it was no good.

"SLAM"

"SLAM"

"SLAM"

Three consecutive times, Korra was slammed into the support columns of the statue. The pain overwhelming, she was thrown onto the floor. Where she collapsed from the pain, unable to stand. She merely lay there gasping for oxygen, and wobbling unable to even crawl.

Suddenly a fist clutched her hair, forcing her head back. Before she could do anything to fight back a thumb found its way onto her forehead.

It was agony, the pain spread like a crack in ice. Spreading down her body as her every vessel started to scream in agony. The pain made her feel like she was going to split into pieces.

Amon let go, and she fell. She felt as if she had shattered into dust, her worthlessness clear.

"Why?" she whispered, more to herself than anyone.

"Because you are a failure. You failed to maintain balance, you failed to protect the weak, and now you failed to keep your bending" he condemned.

He marched to the explosives "Your era is over, and if you had any dignity left, you would stay and accept it". He hit a button, and the ticking began, she could see it. Ten minutes, plenty of time to flee, but only Amon would escape. He was the only one in here with a future.

Seconds dwindled into minutes, each one measured perfectly by the ticking of the timer. She saw flashes, of someone, maybe Aang, but it didn't matter. The next Avatar might care, but she didn't, she wondered what they'll be like. Will Chokin stay to guide them? Would Bolin and Mako teach them, just as Katara and Zuko had trained her? Would they redeem her, just as Aang had redeemed Roku?

Footsteps, she squinted, having kept her eyes closed for the inevitable. Two minutes left.

"No go away, you'll be caught in the blast" she murmured.

"Not without you" said Chokin, attempting to pull her up but she resisted "For Raava's sake Korra that bomb is about to go off any second. And I don't know how to defuse a bomb"

"Then go, save yourself. I'll stay here" she shouted "I'll just be reborn as a proper Avatar"

Chokin was becoming agitated "Korra that might be a way to return your ben-"

The timer did its final alarm, and everything went silver.

 **Asami**

They had all been waiting on the edge of the Island. Tenzin, Bolin, Mako and herself gazed in horror as the Great Statue of Aang collapsed. With Korra and Chokin still inside.

Running in a desperate attempt to find Korra they found one person still alive, but it wasn't Korra.

It was Amon.

"Where's Korra?" she demanded, as her friends took up fighting forms.

Amon's mask was cracked but holding together, his arms behind his back in formal behaviour. Through the mask she could see the cold, empty eyes boring into her.

"Dead" he said, utterly emotionless.

Tears, streamed through her eyes. Rational hesitation gave way to grief induced fury as she charged towards the monster. Her attempt to indulge her fury however never landed as her fist was caught in Amon's hand.

He sighed, in little more than annoyance. As he threw her several feet effortlessly, only for a barrage of earth and fire to push him back.

Looking up she saw Mako and Bolin charging forward, their rage clear, as they unleashed a tide of rock and flame. Yet neither could do more than graze Amon, with them backing away until Amon suddenly broke into a run.

Mako was immediately tripped, and kept down when Amon's boot pined him to the floor.

He was lucky, as Amon's fingers found their way to Bolin's throat. Holding him in the air, a thumb was placed on his forehead.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH" Bolin's scream rippled through the air until he collapsed into a heap onto the ground. Amon used his free leg to tip Bolin, and he rolled down into the mud.

Amon was reaching down, about to remove Mako's bending. Until Asami, fuelled by recklessness, tackled Amon. Pushing him off his feet, which was combined with a gale of wind sending him flying into a wall. The gale originated from Tenzin.

Mako was scrambling, towards Bolin who had yet to stand up, holding Bolin in his arms.

"Bolin speak to me, for goodness sake SPEAK TO ME" he yelled over Bolin's comatose body.

"Mako let me-" she tried to offer.

"GET AWAY" he screamed, bending fire at her which only narrowly missed.

"Mako?" murmured Bolin.

"Bolin?" he sobbed.

Asami slowly approached Bolin, desperate to see if he was unharmed.

"THWACK" a force came from nowhere smashing into her skull, throwing her backwards. Amon thundered forward and before anyone could react, he had Mako in a chokehold and a thumb to his head.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHH" he screamed, his eyes rapidly darting around. Arms thrashing against air unable to save himself, until he slumped to the ground.

Tenzin bent a storm of wind towards Amon, which this time only served to annoy him. But rather than charge at Tenzin he simply dragged Mako up by the collar.

"Your father would have sacrificed anything for the life of a single person. I wonder if you have his guts" he said, placing a hand on Mako's head and preparing to snap his neck.

Tenzin's struggle was over in a second, and he knelt in a symbol of surrender.

Amon threw Mako aside and walked to take Tenzin's bending too. Suddenly at point blank range another gale of air erupted which threw Amon off his feet.

Tenzin followed up with several gusts of wind which threw Amon into a piece of rubble.

Suddenly, however Tenzin lit up with blue sparks. Behind him a moustached man wearing goggles had stuck a baton into Tenzin's back.

Suddenly before she could react, cords were thrown, entangling her which led to her tripping and falling.

"Thank you, Lieutenant" said Amon, standing up. Walking towards Tenzin, twiddling his thumb like an executioner carving his axe. All Asami could do was watch in horror as the last airbending master was stripped of his bending.

As Tenzin dropped, Amon turned to gaze at the rubble of the statue.

"To think in a single day. No less than a single hour we have done the impossible. The Avatar dead, the last airbending master purified as well as the two pro-bending celebrities for good measure" said Amon.

"That spirit guide didn't change much did he?" laughed the Lieutenant. Amon turned his head to address his lieutenant.

"Lieutenant, find the corpse for proof. I'm going to make the announcement to our brothers" ordered Amon. The Lieutenant beat his chest in some kind of salute, then started giving out orders. None she could hear.

It was over, Korra was gone. It wasn't possible, how could this happen? She wanted to go, she wanted to leave. But she couldn't muster the strength to even struggle against the ropes. As if the flame to fight within her was being smothered in shock. It didn't make sense, it just couldn't be true.

She could see the statue, broken, fallen apart. She wondered what Korra was thinking in those final moments, before Amon killed her. Was Chokin with her? He must have been, he had gone on ahead when they hadn't received word after midnight.

Something was glowing, it was a small silver light. Originating from a single part of the rubble, basking the island in its soft glow. It could be a simple spark, some broken wiring from the explosion. Yet everyone's eyes were drawn to it, after all it could be the avatar state.

The light grew brighter, until suddenly it shot into the air in a giant pillar of light. Breaking into the heavens and brightening up the entire city in its blinding nature. Even the clouds seemed to be departing as everyone on the island shielded their eyes to not be blinded.

Peering through her arms there was a figure in the centre, almost completely silver, only recognisable from the pillar for the figure shone even brighter. The head of the figure had a T shaped image on its face that glowed pure white, while holding its arms out like a hawk-eagle, beams of light extending downward. The beams wrapped around a single orb.

The orb was being lowered, gently. As it came closer it became clear that someone was in it. "KORRA" she screamed, relief washing over her, as the orb dissipated leaving a few wisps of light, which slowed Korra's landing to the ground.

"Impossible" exclaimed the lieutenant. Then he looked to his comrades "what you need an order? KILL HER"

"SLAM" the figure had landed, with a force that send a shockwave of light throughout the island, throwing everyone but it onto their backs.

" **You will not touch her"** it demanded, with a voice that echoed itself a hundred times.

The lieutenant didn't listen, scrambling onto his feet, he charged forwards. Only for his batons to melt before reaching their target.

The figure drew his arm back, then thrust it forward erupting in a beam of light pinning the Equalist to the ground.

Then the figure drew it's arms up, tentacles of light followed, wrapping themselves around the remaining Equalists.

It turned to Asami, made a slashing motion with it's hands, as she felt her ropes become undone. Immediately she scrambled to Korra, searching for a pulse. Only for Korra's eyes to flicker open.

"Asami?" she asked.

Mako, Tenzin and Bolin were waking up now, and coming towards Korra.

" **Move aside"** the figure ordered sternly, Asami did so immediately.

The figure floated towards Korra, who appeared to be still groggy from the explosion. It put a hand on her forehead, another was placed just below her neck. It grew brighter, Korra's eyes glowed silver.

Korra was startled, she rolled back holding a flame in fear.

"What did yo-"she started, before looking at the flame in her hand "you restored my bending. How?"

The figure's silver outline dissipated, revealing him to be Chokin who smiled "The old fashioned way. I am the last energybender"

 **A/N: From the next chapter onwards, the fic will be renamed the last energybender. Just a heads up**


	16. The Last Energybender

**The Last Energybender**

 **A/N: So I've waited to reveal Chokin's hidden element since starting this fic. And I'm excited to finally change the title of this fic, I only hadn't before because there would have been no energybending, and that would have been a rip off for most readers/**

 **Oh and need to make this clear that I don't do collabs, I'm sorry. There's been a lot of people asking so I just need to make it clear**

 **Also the chapter can get very graphic**

 **Korra**

 _Energy-myth no more?_

 _Since the end of the hundred year war, a rumour had arisen of a potential fifth element after Avatar Aang removed Firelord Ozai's bending around 70 years ago. This rumoured fifth element, considered energy, was debunked as a myth from multiple fire sages, Gurus and even Councilman Tenzin. Claiming that what Avatar Aang did was little more than an extension of his Avatar powers, and that the event could not be replicated by anyone other than the Avatar._

 _However cosmic lights viewed from Avatar Aang Memorial Island have been confirmed to be the work of a true energy bender. The first to be seen in living memory, not only was this energybender responsible for saving Avatar Korra from the Equalist trap that destroyed the statue of Aang (see page 7) but also restored the bending of two pro-benders and Councilman Tenzin. Saving the future of the air nation._

 _It is unclear whom this new energybender is, as the Councilman refused to give us his name however rumours are questioning whether he is threat or a saviour against Amon's threat_

"You didn't mention me by name? Why not?" demanded Chokin, throwing the paper down.

They were back on Airbending Island, Chokin had refused to discuss his power until he was somewhere he could not be overheard. After returning Tenzin, Bolin and Mako's bending they Air Temple Island. After which Tenzin was forced to head to Town Hall to calm the public whom did not know what had happened.

Chokin had refused to talk about it until Tenzin was back. And Tenzin had not returned home without a copy of the newspaper as he had stayed to ensure there was no shadiness in it.

"Because I didn't know whether you wanted to be mentioned. Especially after you kept it secret for so long" replied Tenzin.

Chokin was looking guilty "We want the truth, the full story" demanded Asami.

Chokin sighed "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, it was always going to come out. Just I wanted to try without it for a while"

"Why?" asked Korra.

"It's too easy, I mean you've got to have some sympathy for the idiots" he answered, laughing timidly "at least that was why until I discovered Amon had that power"

"Is he an energybender too?" asked Mako.

"No, remember how I asked you to check the eyes of those Amon took bending from" he said to Asami.

She nodded "you were checking if he was an energybender. Right?"

"Yeah, but he's not because there's no glow, but thankfully I can still cure the people he takes bending from" said Chokin, his voice was becoming quieter, as if confessing something.

"Did you teach the other Avatars energybending? you know back when you were their partner?" she asked, enthusiastic about the new element.

"Yes I did, your past lives were some of my best students" he said smiling.

"Will you teach me?" she asked, smiling hopefully.

Chokin stopped smiling, then seemed to sadden "Not until you've learned airbending, and opened your charkas. Then… we'll see"

'We'll see'. That phase normally implied that an adult simply did not want to say 'yes' out loud. But here she could sense that Chokin was hesitating for some reason.

In any case she would hurry up "Tenzin, I will restart airbending training immediately. And this afternoon I wan-"

She stopped, Tenzin had fallen asleep, into his chair. Snoring loudly "Really?"

"Well it has been… hrrrrgggh" yawned Bolin, collapsing onto the floor asleep.

"Sorry but this is way past his bed time" said Mako, scooping Bolin into his arms and carrying him away.

"And your dad is going probably going to kill you for being out so long" pointed out Korra, looking towards Asami.

"Well, I'm sure he won't mind if I stay here tonight" suggested Asami timidly.

"Yes, he will" stated Chokin firmly, as he pulled Tenzin over his shoulder "so get going"

The three left. Asami looking hesitant, but leaving nonetheless. Chokin proceeded to carry Tenzin towards his room but Korra just stayed there in the room waiting for his return. When Chokin did return he had a huge book in his hand, he looked surprised that she was there.

"You're not going to sleep? I thought you Humans needed sleep. Or has that changed too?" he asked curiously.

"How would that change?" she asked.

"It used to be that airbenders would become severely fatigued unless they mediated for three hours a day. Then there was Meelo" he said, smiling "so maybe something similar happened with sleep"

She chuckled at that, "Well we do still sleep, it was just I want to know more about energybending"

"After airbending" he said firmly.

She expected that response, but she had her secret weapon, "well according to my teachers you must never accept a single way of thinking for any element. Using mixes of those ideas works best, so I should know all the ways the different elements work right? So I can incorporate them into other elements to make them more powerful" she said, repeating white lotus boring lecture stuff that she barely understood.

"Since when did you listen to your teachers?" asked Chokin, defeated.

"Always, I just forgot that which wasn't important… which turned out to be most of it" she added sheepishly.

"Hrrrgh, well I'll give you the basics" sighed Chokin, "come outside"

She followed him outside, it was the early morning, with the orange of the waking sun just barely glazing itself over the horizon. Just enough for the early birds of the acolytes to be waking up.

Chokin had collected a stick from the foliage on the Island and was drawing into the ground. First he drew a line, vertically, at the base he drew several lines crossing the main line, resembling a star. Then from the star, up along the line there were two kite shapes, extending away from the line, opposite each other. Finally the shape was encircled.

"Is this is the symbol of energy, like a flame is for fire?" she asked, looking at it.

"Correct, energy is the least known out of the five elements, it is the fifth and most powerful of the five" he explained, standing with is arms behind his back in a formal position, like one of her old mentors. Now radiating with an uncharacteristic amount of wisdom.

"Most powerful? More powerful than the element of power?" she asked, referring to fire.

"Indeed, because while the four elements are a mere extension of the spirit within us, energy is the complete control of that spirit" he explained, now radiating a wisdom, and twinkles in his eyes which appeared to hold such wisdom.

"Well hopefully, we can get most the philosophy lectures out of the way quickly. That way we can-"

"Not going to happen, sorry. And if that's your attitude, this will be particularly difficult" interrupted Chokin "For energy is the element of philosophy"

"That's not my forte" she admitted, shoulders slumping to the ground.

"Unfortunately, every aspect of this element is inexorably linked to it. Even this symbol, of my own design represents that aspect" he continued. He appeared to be in his element, leading others to understand his own ideas.

"How so?" she asked looking at the symbol.

"The two kite shapes" he said pointing to each with his stick "represent the spirits of conflict, Raava and Vaatu. They represent the positive and negative aspects of all philosophies"

He then pointed to the line "The line represents the grey, where all true beliefs are located. For every human and spirit. Even the two spirits of conflict, as what they represent is hardly completely accurate to their true nature. No matter how much they may deny it, are all mucked in grey. There's no true good and evil ideas"

Next he pointed to the star "The star represents the inner spirit. The source of all energybending, unlike the other elements where they depend on outside forces, this is purely internal. And therefore, the most dependable, provided we remain in touch with that spirit"

"And the circle?" she asked.

"The world, and how these philosophies affect it" he answered simply. "Energy is the most powerful element unable to be either created nor destroyed, it can only be manipulated in how it is expressed. That is what I do, what you saw at the statue was the expression of a philosophy shaped by ten thousand years of development, thought and doubt"

"Thank you Chokin, but I think I'll stick with airbending for now though" she answered, still very tired. She bowed as if to a master, and turned to her room.

"Korra" said Chokin, she turned to him, he looked at the air acolytes nervously, "errm, don't bow to me it makes me feel old"

"Sorry sir" she said, bowing again. Chokin merely groaned at her blatant disregard of his request.

She immediately headed to her room desperate for sleep, given the weighted toll of what had happened that day she only now realised how tired she was. Between fighting Amon, losing her bending, being saved by Chokin, having her bending restored and learning about him being an energybender. It had taken her toll, even though she had only just noticed it now.

Reaching her room she merely patted Naga on her head, before immediately passing out.

…

…

…

Ash, she could taste ash. Its bitter taste was in her mouth, her throat dry as sand, yet she lacked even the strength to cough the bile.

She was wet, floating. The water splashed over her, like she had somehow fallen into the sea. Yet she also felt heat, the warmth of a fire. Like a rain of heat splattering against her skin from all sides not submerged.

Her eyes opened, painful as it was to do, she could see smoke, so thick and strong that it was impossible to know whether it was night or day. Neither the moon nor the sun could possibly be visible through the fog.

She tried to stand, a sudden panic overtaking her, yet her arms weighed more than a stone, and leaning forward was a difficult effort.

Standing was hard but she managed barely, her eyes closed due to the dizziness, she could not simply rely on her legs to stand. They were weak, so she had to balance herself, with a hand to her stomach, to remain upright.

Stable, her eyes opened, it was once a city. But now the city is a blazing ruin. The flames were enormous, beyond her everything above a single inch off the water was ablaze. The flames themselves seemed cruel, as if like a thousand jaws snapping at everything that could burn. And chortling at the destruction.

The water though, was the true horror. If it could still be called that.

It was thick with blood. Completely red and stretching as far as one could see. It waved up to her ankles, drenching them, in what was once human. Floating and submerged beneath the water were remains, some eyes open. Faces stuck in frozen expressions of horror, others were melted and horribly scarred.

There was no life, this was nothing more than death and pain. She collapsed.

"HGGHH" she gasped, waking in cold sweat. Eyes darting trying to make sense of the mere action of waking up. It was daylight, but only barely, she couldn't have slept for more than an hour, yet she felt like it had been days.

She felt ill, physically and mentally. Her stomach especially felt like some unknown force had stuck a sword through it while her arms, face and skin were as pale as a bone.

Naga put her head on her lap, in a comforting manner, like she was pressing what she had seen into her own mind. Korra started stroking her tenderly. Looking into Naga's concerned black eyes she knew she'd have to tell her something.

"Don't worry Naga it was just a bad dream… I hope" she said quietly until she returned to sleep.

 **A/N: That dream's important, and links heavily into the past. I wonder what people are theorising in regard to what it is, or into Chokin's past. Leave it in a review, also Please Review I love reviews.**

 **I decided to give a light introduction into the nature of energy while leaving many of the development to later. I intend to develop this fully but I don't intend to have Chokin use energybending all the time, because in this story to be a true master of energybending gives you almost demigod levels of power, which is why Chokin isn't to be looking to just beat anyone in a fight, otherwise it would be too easy for him. He'll only use it when things get serious.**


	17. The Gala

**The Press Conference**

 **A/N: Just wanted to give a shout out to the anonymous guest reviewer whose commented on every chapter a few days ago. I really appreciate it. Also another late thank you to the other guest reviewer for the vote of confidence back on chapter 6**

 **Korra**

She was finally doing it. Passing through the spinning plates, her every muscle now shifted so quickly. Her eyes were closed so she could feel the wind forewarn her when a plate was coming easier and adjust accordingly. Her success didn't last long though as she suddenly found herself slam straight into something.

"Uggh… I was doing so well" she moaned, rubbing her head. That was strange. Normally after she was hit once she'd be hit by another thousand slabs. She opened her eyes, she had slammed into the tree opposite, which meant she did it.

Forgetting the pain in her head she jumped into the air "WOOHOO I FINALLY DID IT" doing a small victory dance in spite of Ikki and Jinora's constant giggling.

"Look it's her spirit friend" said Ikki excitedly jumping up and down with a beaming smile. She looked up, Chokin was indeed approaching with two letters in his hand.

"I saw you sneak into his room Korra, do you have feelings for him?" demanded Jinora, infuriatingly.

"Is that true Korra? Oh that is soooo cute" squealed Ikki.

Before she could react she saw Chokin stand over her shoulder, an amused smile on his face "I hate you sometimes" she said to Ikki and Jinora.

"Don't worry Korra I know they were just being idiots" comforted Chokin.

"Isn't that the truth"

"And I think we can both pretend that never happened" he continued.

"Yeah"

"And I perfectly respect that you have a crush on Asami and nobody else" he finished.

"Of course… wait no that's no true either" she desperately tried to respond but everyone was too busy laughing at her to listen. But then after stuttering for several moments she had a devilish idea "There's no need to compensate your own love life problems by trying to force some of my own"

Chokin rubbed his neck sheepishly with Jinora and Ikki laughing at him too, eventually he sighed. Summoned a ball of energy around Jinora and Ikki and flung them somewhere across the Island "ahh forget it, I came to tell you that we got mail"

He showed her the two letters, both were clearly written by the same person judging by the handwriting, and by the water patterns on the envelope they were most likely sent by Tarrlock. She took the one addressed to her as Chokin started to read aloud.

"You have been invited to Councilman Tarrlock's personal Gala in honour-"he stopped, squinting at the paper "oh you have got to be kidding me"

"What?" she asked curiously.

He sighed in annoyance as he read "in honour of the Avatar's personal energybending mascot"

"How do they keep making that mistake?" she begged, as Chokin had his face in his arms. Her invitation was the same with the rest of it simply describing the details of the party.

"Well you know what we're going to do now?" he asked, excitedly.

"What?" she asked.

"Shopping. Neither of us have any formal clothes" he said enthusiastically.

"Oh no" she moaned.

 **Several Hours Later**

"I'm in Hell. I'm in Hell. I'm in Hell" she repeated constantly. Suffering endlessly as Pema, Jinora and Ikki constantly insisting that she should try on new dresses only to say that this dress that fit was somehow inferior to this other dress that also fit.

But Chokin was by far the worst.

"Hmmm which do you think Korra?" he asked, holding up two identical bowties.

"I DON'T KNOW. THEY ARE LITERALLY IDENTICAL, SAME COLOUR, SAME SHAPE, THEY'RE EVEN MADE by the same people" she yelled frustrated to no end.

"There are entirely different Korra, this one has a single cross stich while the other is entirely backstitch. That's a huge difference, I mean does the cross stich make it more exotic or does it just look like a mistake"

"I don't care, you've trying to figure it out for the last seven hours so just PICK ONE" she shouted, aggravated.

"It hasn't been seven hours i-"he dismissed, then he saw the clock "you were still wrong"

"Ten- Ten hours?" she gasped unbelieving, at the clock. Fuming in anger.

"Sorry about that, I lost track of time" he said sheepishly. Eventually though he chose the one with the single cross stit- GAH. Now she was remembering this stuff. She needed to get out of here.

"IF YOU TRY AND FORCE ME INTO ANOTHER DRESS I SWEAR I WILL BURN IT TO A CRISP" she yelled as Pema and Ikki came running up with another ten dresses she should try. They returned them disappointed.

They purchased the outfits, which were all the same just different colours, as far as she could tell, and walked out of the store. After returning to Air Temple Island and practicing airbending with Tenzin for a few hours it was time for the party.

"How are we getting there?" she asked, pulling on the slightly oversized dress onto her shoulder. With Chokin waiting outside her room, wearing his 'perfect' bowtie continuing to talk with her.

"You and Tenzin's family are taking the bison, while I'll fly" he said cheerfully.

"You can fly?" she asked as she finished pulling on the dumb dress.

"With energybending. I used to be able to sprout wings, but then I suffered an accident. By spirit standards I have a disability. And they don't have a benefit" he grumbled in mock anger.

"I'm sorry" she apologised.

"Don't be, it was a war. It happens" he dismissed as he lead them to the yard.

They approached the sky bison, and she provided to earthbend some stone steps to help Pema up on Oggi's back. As she understandably took a while getting on top of the sky bison Chokin started to float up to talk to her.

His arms and legs glowed silver as balls of energy extended from each of them. Wisps of light traced up along the rest of his body as he attempted to remain balanced. From what she could tell it was like trying to stand on several spinning air tops, though they were much smaller than the usual smaller ones.

"So what do you think this is about?" asked Chokin, curiously.

"This Gala, I'm 90% sure Tarrlock wants you on the task force" she answered smoothly.

"Yeah I agree, he's going to remain disappointed" he smirked. Korra remained silent, she would have liked Chokin to be doing something other than just sitting around on Air Temple Island.

"Ready to go?" asked Chokin, they nodded "then I'll race you"

He shot up into the air heading towards the city, gaining a head start "Well what are you waiting for? Yip-yip"

Tenzin sighed as he reigned Oggi into the skies, easily overtaking Chokin's slow flight, and arriving at city hall several minutes before him. As they dismounted Chokin caught up and landed smoothly.

"In my defence it's hard to go fast when there are invisible obstacles" he retorted before Korra could say anything.

"What invisible obstacles?" she asked.

"Power lines" he said "But I've dealt with worse. Far worse"

"That's why we flew high" she said smugly. Only to stupidly trip on her of long dress and almost fall into the dirt, thankfully Tenzin caught her.

"I hate this dress, so much" she cursed.

"Thankfully there aren't any cameramen near here" Tenzin reassured. Spirits that would have been a disaster.

"Oh boy, this is a press trap. The media have been told I'm going to talk about energybending. In order to pressure me into talking about energybending. That's why the media aren't here, they're inside" groaned Chokin.

"Who would go through the trouble of setting up an entire party just to get you to talk to some journlists?" she asked, doubtful.

As they headed inside they were met with a splendid ballroom stretching around for what seemed like miles. Its walls draped in silk curtains of deep royal red and purple, while chandlers hanged in the mid-air like crystal stars. Tarrlock had even gone as far as to sculpt ice sculptors of Chokin, though waterbending made it easier than it was for most people.

Among the people at the party there was a sea of immaculately dressed politicians, businesspeople and other high society groups. All wearing outfits that suddenly made her feel very poorly dressed given the eloquence of other people's outfits. All of whom looked like they had spent even longer than Chokin deciding what to wear.

Tenzin's kids started to run into the room, playing and eating everything in sight. To the slight annoyance of the people in the party. She saw a familiar man arrive to greet them.

"Ah the man of the hour has arrived, or should I say spirit?" announced Tarrlock, approaching them welcomingly. Korra however noticed the small vein that had appeared on Chokin's head at the word 'spirit'.

"I prefer freak" he answered coolly. Tarrlock looked confused at that, but at Korra's visible sign he ignored it.

"Now I hope you are enjoying the party" he continued, smiling broadly. Leading them away, Tenzin was about to follow until his face dropped in horror "MEELO THAT IS NOT A TOILET, oh dear" he shouted as he walked away.

She debated following Tenzin, but in the end stuck with Chokin, secretly she did hope Tarrlock could persuade him to join the Task Force and help stop Amon. He could be incredibly helpful, and she would enjoy his company on it with the rest of Team Avatar.

"This party must be expensive" remarked Chokin as he followed Tarrlock.

"I spared no expense" said Tarrlock proudly.

"You or the taxpayer?" asked Chokin shrewdly.

"Me" was Tarrlock's short, offended response, then he forced a smile "I have some people who want to meet you"

As he led Chokin outside they were met with a storm of blinding camera flashes and deafening questions. Chokin merely rolled his eyes at the attention, as if disappointed.

"Why has this element been kept secret from us?"

"Can you give people bending?"

"Are you aware your bowtie has a single cross-stitch among it being mostly back-stitch?"

Currently, Chokin was investigating the microphone attempting to figure out how it worked, eventually he found the button that you pressed when speaking.

"Please shut up for a few moments and put up your hands like a well-mannered classroom" he demanded, not betraying a single hint of rudeness in his tone, despite the otherwise quite rude request.

Hands started to rise in the crowd slowly, he started pointing to them "Can you give non-benders bending?"

Korra looked towards Chokin, who had started to walk with the mic in his hand, it was a good question.

"No, I can restore bending to those whom have lost it, but not give it to people who never had it" he answered, "Only the Lion Turtles have that power"

Another few hands began to rise "You there"

"Why have you kept this a secret?"

"That's classified" was Chokin's response.

"On whose authority?"

"Mine" was his short reply "I'm getting bored of this so one more question"

Everyone's hand was up, Chokin thought for a while before choosing a reporter from the back "What sort of threat do you think Amon poses, given his similar abilities?"

"None" Chokin replied. Dropping the microphone and walking off.

 **A/N: Don't get any ideas, I'm not doing a romance between Korra and Chokin. It's just a joke, calm down.**

 **Mostly this chapter is to show the politician side of Chokin, as he is intended to be skilled enough to not only avoid the clear traps the Tarrlock sets up, but identify them several moments before hand.**

 **Also I think it's sensible to not given Chokin the power to give bending to whomever he likes, after all there's no reasonable excuse why he wouldn't give bending to whomever asked for it.**


	18. The Past

**The Past**

 **A/N: Could Edboi21 please explain why they decided to put an exact copy of my story onto Watpad without asking for my permission? I wouldn't have minded if you had at least asked me first and credited me for the work.**

 **Korra**

She had lost Chokin in the crowd, given the swarm of reporters that startled to heckle her and Tarrlock with the questions that Chokin had refused to answer. In that scenario she did the noble thing, and abandoned Tarrlock to answer the questions by himself. He was a politician after all.

While filling herself a drink of water she noticed Chokin was melting one of the ice sculptures of himself with a ball of energy with a cup in his hand to catch the water. She filled up another cup of water to take to him, as a favour, and to preserve the statue.

"You know there is a drinking fountain over there" she said, offering him a drink.

"Yeah I know, but Meelo thought it was a toilet" he explained. She immediately emptied the two cups onto the ground. And bent some of the water from the ice statue into Chokin's cup.

"Hey Korra, Chokin" said Mako, approaching them with Bolin. Both were wearing relatively simple suits. She guessed that they couldn't afford much else.

"Hey Chokin, how did you manage to get this whole party thrown in your honour? That's seriously impressive" admired Bolin sparkles in his eyes.

"Just my dashing good looks, charming personality and exceptional intelligence" boasted Chokin, smiling pridefully.

"By which he means this party was a sham in order to try and get him to join the Task Force" she interjected.

"You could pretend that at least some of what I said was true" complained Chokin, sobered.

"Well did it work?" asked Mako.

"Of course, it didn't, you'd I think I'd waste my time making this problem worse" Chokin replied, laughing.

"How would it? We're stopping them from taking benders bending" demanded Mako. He seemed to be angry with Chokin's lack of help thus far. Korra privately agreed.

"Bending I can restore" pointed out Chokin.

"What if he takes yours" pressed Mako.

"He can't. At worst it would drive him insane" he stated, grief in his eyes "that's what happens when you try to take my bending. I lost a lot of corrupt students that way"

"But you said yourself it's different with Amon" injected Mako. Chokin, it appeared, couldn't think of an argument against that, so took the offensive.

"What's your point? What is actually want me to do?" demanded Chokin.

"We want you to help us and fight instead of hiding like a coward" shouted Korra the final word being delivered like a curse.

Chokin broke the glass of water in his hands, tentacles of purple crawled up his arms. His eyes became slits as his breathing became enraged.

"Pal, are you okay? You're turning purple" asked Bolin concerned. The three others ignored him, too angry to care.

"You DARE call me a coward Korra" he shouted, displaying his arm and pointing to his forearm.

"You know what this is, it's a scar" he said.

"So? You got scratched. It happens" she dismissed.

"Not for freaks like me. For us it takes a force beyond your comprehension to leave a lasting marks. Forces I faced alone" he explained, a dark undertone in his voice.

"You said the Avatar-"

"Left me to die" he iterated "and ran away. So don't call me a coward when your past life once abandoned his destiny, a thousand people's lives and myself to save his own skin"

This new information stung. It weighed down her stomach like a brick and sickened her. Her throat stuck and it became difficult to speak given the weight of the crime her past life had committed.

"Was this why you left for the Spirit World? Because that Avatar betrayed you?" she choked.

Chokin didn't answer immediately, eventually standing up and smiling, the purple receded as twinkles appeared in his eyes once more "You'd think I'd let a little survival instinct get in the way of our friendship"

"You don't understand anything" shouted Mako, angrily storming off.

"Sorry about him, Mako can get a little angry sometimes" explained Bolin, apologetically.

"There's nothing for you to apologise for Bolin" she added.

"You know what I think Mako needs?" asked Chokin.

"An attitude adjustment?" Bolin asked.

"No, a girlfriend" he stated.

"That's a good idea. Any ideas?" asked Bolin.

"hggh… none at all, the only two we know who are his age already have a crush on each other. And I could never see them actually successfully dating him" sighed Chokin.

"Why do you keep saying that?" asked Korra, confused as to how he'd gotten this nonsense idea into his head.

"Because you'll find out eventually" explained Chokin. She was about to argue back until she saw another person approach. "Master Kontrolla? What are you doing here?" she asked her White Lotus Master. He was dressed in his usual Grand Lotus outfit of white and navy blue.

"Greetings Avatar Korra, and whom may you be?" he asked addressing Bolin, holding out his hand. Interesting since Chokin should also be a stranger to him.

"I'm Bolin, master pro-bender. Maybe you've heard of me… please tell me you've heard of me" he begged, desperate to please him. Shaking his hand rapidly.

"Of course … I watch some of your… matches?" he said tentatively. Liar.

Bolin didn't catch on to the lie however as his eyes lit up. "Wow"

"Hey, what about me? I'm a part of the White Lotus too you know" interjected Chokin angrily. He was promptly ignored.

Master Kontrolla however very much looked like he wanted to be alone, and Korra was perfectly aware that she should not interfere with that wish from personal experience.

"Look err Bolin I think we should find Mako" she suggested, dragging him away.

Behind her she noticed Master Kontrolla was leading Chokin off somewhere.

 **Master Kontrolla**

The Avatar had clearly noticed he wished to be alone, and had led the pro-bender Botin away. Master Chokin also tried to sneak away, though he had grabbed his arm as he did so.

Noticing that the Avatar was out of earshot he whispered into the Master's ear "Master, we need to talk. About the Mogui"

The spirit looked angry, before whispering back "in private, on the balcony"

Kontrolla nodded and followed Chokin up to it like a hawk-eagle. Ensuring that he at no point tried to run or escape the discussion they should have.

Upon the balcony they were alone. Therefore he and Master Chokin could discuss the matter privately enough.

"You've been avoiding me" he stated to the ancient spirit. The spirit squirmed like a child caught in wrongdoing, looking at his feet, with his hands behind his back.

"I've been busy" he said, looking anywhere but at him "there was a spirit attack, pro-bending practice, this non-bender revolution and my energybending just came into the public eye"

"What does that matter? The Mogui's returning, and now you've revealed your greatest advantage to the Avatar" he demanded, furious at his carelessness against this threat.

"It was always going to come out" he continued sheepishly.

"But now the Mogui knows too, everything the Avatar knows, it knows, and if it returned-"he began to panic.

"It already knew about that power, it makes no difference" interrupted Chokin.

"You know that's not true" he retorted, he leaned against the railing of the balcony, his head in his arms "now what do we do if it succeeds in returning? How do you beat it?"

Chokin too had started to lean across the railing his voice had devolved into a whisper "I can't"

"What? but what about last time?" he begged desperately.

"Last time I made sacrifices I am no longer willing to make" he confessed in barely a whisper.

"But what about the contingency?"

"A desperate theory, no more than that" said Chokin.

"There has to be something"

"You have no idea what makes the Mogui so dangerous do you?" the spirit asked him. Hinting at something he didn't know.

"Huh?" was his feeble response.

"The Mogui was so powerful it could demolish armies by itself, tear down castles with the flick of a wrist and destroy empires with ease. But that's not what made it so dangerous" he whispered, his face looking ill.

"What then? What could be worse than all of that?" he asked, scared.

"A Mogui's power stems from good things. Therefore good men cannot stop the Mogui, they only make it stronger" he explained darkly.

"I don't understand"

"Courage. Nobility. Kindness. Bravery. Determination. Sacrifice. All of these qualities fuel its power. Makes it more powerful. Makes it invincible. Fuels it's capability to destroy." he explained, an underlying hatred in his voice as purple tentacles wrapped around his arms.

"Then how did you win last time?"

Purple scars etched deep, spreading across Chokin's back, spikes extruded along his arms and spine, as he continued to look nowhere but the skyline of the balcony.

"I stopped being a good person"

 **Avatar Korra**

It had been a long party, and she was exhausted. She left the party after saying goodbye to Bolin and Mako and had worked her way back to Air Temple Island alone, after informing Tenzin where she was going.

By this time the sun had long since set and she had arrived in her room. Unable to even change out of her awful dress, she simply collapsed onto the plank of wood and fell asleep instantly.

She stood on a different plane, one of pure blackness in every direction. She herself could not tell what she was standing on, for she seemed to be walking on thin air.

She looked at her hands, a pale, light blue. She also noticed she was wearing her normal fur outfit, instead of the dress she had been forced into that day.

"Hello?" she yelled desperately into the distance "anyone there?"

She could feel some sort of radiant light illuminate her from behind, but when she turned it had vanished.

"Show yourself" she yelled, trying to hold a flame with no effect.

"Hello Avatar Korra" came a quiet voice.

She twisted seeing a man in an airbending garb. He looked old, around Katara's age with winkled skin, thin arms and white hair tied, into a pony tail.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Avatar Youyi" he said.

An Avatar, she'd never heard of him, in either her studies or from Tenzin.

"You're my past life?" she questioned.

"Indeed I am" he answered.

"Wha- why?" she blubbered confused.

"In my time, I was the second Avatar in the cycle… and the one whom first met Chokin"

 **A/N: So for the next few chapters I'm going to be writing Chokin's origin story, how he met the Avatar, and why he separated from the spirits. Look forward to that.**

 **Also has anyone had any theories regarding the Mogui, I won't confirm or deny any of them (unless they're REALLY out there) but they're definitely fun to hear.**

 **As always I love followers and favourites but there is nothing I appreciate more than taking the time to leave a review.**


	19. The Second Avatar

**The Second Avatar**

 **A/N: Given that it's hardly common knowledge back to just after Wan's time, I wondered how someone would react without any context. Thought that's what I'd explore in this chapter**

 **Youyi**

The sun was rising, it's orange radiance grew through the clouds, and enriched the mountains in pale red colour. The ocean behind the alter reflected the sunlight to enrich the standing temples in its golden light.

He held in his hands a small part of the eternal flame, beating softly like a heartbeat. It was terrifying looking up upon the momentous altar in the setting sun.

He looked to his Master, dressed in the ceremonial outfit and tattoos of the noble sun warrior tradition. Master Taiyang plunged his staff into the ground, and took the smallest offering of the eternal flame into his hands, split it into two, and gave it to a thousand others. "When you face the dragons, you will be judged. For your honour, your ancestry and your honesty" Youyi cringed slightly at that last part "if you pass you will be shown the meaning of firebending, if you fail you'll be destroyed"

Youyi squirmed in dread, Taiyang placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Do not fear my pupil, I have seen you, train for countless days. Your persistence, and your skill has eclipsed all others and I have the uttermost faith in the master's judgement"

Youyi squirmed in fear, and gulped "Thank you Master Taiyang". They would have hugged if it were not for the flame he was nursing in his hands. It was time for him to be judged by the dragons. He breathed deeply and began to walk.

He climbed the ancient steps, nurturing his fire. The wind howled in anticipation, drowning out the chants below. Leaving him alone in the face of the masters of fire.

As he reached the top of the altar he bowed to the caves, his fire outstretched as his offering.

"THWOOOSH"

The dragon stormed through the air, the wind extinguishing his flame, as the dragon consumed it as his sacrifice. It continued to circle overhead, twisting its great body through the gaps of the Altar of the Sun.

Instinctively he began to recite the forms of the dragon dance, and their quick sharp movements, as the dragon followed the same movements in the skies. His heart was beating in adrenaline in the face of judgement.

His dance ended and he bowed to the dragon, awaiting judgement. Moments passed like hours, until finally the noble dragon opened his mouth as flames engulfed around him, and spiralled upwards.

It was beyond words, like stepping into a separate world. One of colour and magnificence. The whirlwind of colours and flames was breath-taking, instead of the harshness and wildness of the fire he was used to, it was warm, homely and comforting. Like the sun, or a home fire, where families would smile, laugh and cuddle.

The heavenly flames dissipated, but the great dragon did not fall back into the caves as expected, instead it landed on the pathways of the Altar. Youyi started to back away in fear of the great grey beast, his arms outstretched in case he needed to do some last minute bending.

But then the creature lowered its head, in a purely subservient position. Its wings stagnant and its head bowed down inches from him. Cautiously Youyi placed a hand on the Masters head.

"This has never happened before" gasped Master Taiyang, whom had climbed the steps of the Altar.

"Master?" he asked worried.

"The dragons are beings of honour, they sense it in different students, and here this one has decided to become your- I'm not so sure. The best comparison is between an air bender and their sky bison" he explained, scratching his chin, "I think so at least"

Another unexplainable mystery it seemed, he guessed he'll add it to the pile.

"So, erm… is that right… master dragon sir?" he asked timidly. The dragon snorted which he took to mean a yes.

A moment passed, "What happens now? My house isn't big enough for you to fit"

 **Several Hours later**

He was outside, at his hut on the outskirts of the city, scratching behind the ears of his new dragon as he rested. He was lucky he lived so far from the main town as it gave him space for his new friend to rest, and privacy for his powers.

"So, I should have asked a lot earlier… but do you have a name" he asked… his dragon.

The dragon, did not open his eyes and placed a whisker to his head, instantly he knew his name was Yan Tzu.

"Can I just call you Dragy?" he asked cheekily. To which Yan snorted flames setting his shoulder on fire, he immediately blew it out and applied water to the wound "You could have said no" he retorted angrily.

Yan didn't respond, but had stared at Youyi with Amber-gold eyes. It was at this moment that Youyi realised he had absentmindedly used airbending to blow out the fire on his shoulder and then used waterbending to heal the wound.

"Monkey Feathers" he cursed, hating himself for revealing his secrets "Look it's not what it looks like"

Yan had gotten himself up, having been sprawled out when asleep, he placed his whisker on his head showing a familiar man, bending all four elements.

"I know, I know. I know Wan could bend all four too but it's different" he fell clutching his head with his arms "He had that light spirit, those portals, harmonic convergence and he got those powers from a lion turtle… I just woke up with them"

He sighed, he'd hoped once he'd managed to master all the elements something would happen. Some great answer would be revealed, but other than a dragon bowing down to him and becoming basically his bison, nothing had happened. Nor had he any clue where Wan had disappeared to, whom would be the only person whom might be able to explain it to him.

Harmonic convergence had done something to Humans everywhere, now instead of lion turtles giving them bending, people were born with it, inherited it. For the most part however you could only have one, but he was different.

Yan put his head onto Youyi's lap, pressing it just enough so that it didn't hurt him when he rested. Easing the tension off him, he started to stroke the creatures head.

"I don't know what this means, and I've got to know. What if it means something? What if I have to do something with it? Or if it's… killing me?" he choked.

"What if I never see my family again, never explain it? They must be worried sick back at the air temples" he moaned, shaking with grief.

"I'm never going to figure this out am I? Maybe I should just give up, and enjoy the time I have left" he sobbed, suddenly noticing he was crying.

He wiped away the tears on his arm, as Yan pulled up from his lap, and laid on the ground in front of him.

"You want... me to ride you?" he asked confused. Yan snorted, which he took to mean a yes.

It wouldn't be the first time he'd left. That's what he did from the airbenders, from the water eskimos and from the earth towns, what's one more time?

He got onto the back of Yan, and held onto his horns.

"Are you sure this is important?" he asked, his tone apathetic. Yan simply snorted in annoyance "Okay then"

Wings started to beat, each time he felt the dragon lurch, causing Youyi to jump. Eventually though they broke through the clouds and started to soar across infinite plains and endless lands.

"Probably, should have asked earlier… but where are we going?" he yelled, while hugging's Yan's neck. Yan choose not to answer, to Youyi's frustration.

Several hours past, and the fear had sunk way to boredom. He had completely forgotten he was on a dragon, five hundred feet in the air, and proceeded to act like a child on an extended bison trip.

"Are we there yet?"

"Are we there yet?"

"Are we the-OW" he yelled as Yan thwacked him with his tail in annoyance. This of course did not teach Youyi a lesson.

"Are weeeeeeeeee" he yelled as Yan suddenly went into a nose dive, wind thrashed into his face, as they fell several hundred feet in a matter of seconds. Youyi could feel the skin in his face flap back as if it would detach from his skull, as his hands clung deep into Yan's scales for support and for dear life.

Eventually though Yan got merciful and pulled up before the two of them just before the two of them became a puddle on the ground. Youyi tumbled off the dragon's back and attempted to crawl onto his feet, though he'd only managed to get halfway up when he emptied his stomach into the ground.

"Ugggh, can you go more gently next time" he moaned between retches. Yan snorted which he took to mean 'fine'.

Still he managed to get up weakly, and used the element of water to wipe his face. As he did so, he started to actually take in a feel for the land. It seemed as if an ancient battle had been fought. From the terrain though it appeared to be earthbenders that had fought here, as most of the rock formations appeared natural. Most likely an Earth House dispute over land, he was therefore quite confused as to why Yan would bring him here.

He was about to ask Yan that question, but he just pointed his head towards a large round circle of rock. He started to walk towards that rock alone, his loyal companion having faithfully fallen asleep. As he came around the rock he found a skeleton, wearing a maroon tunic, and a red scarf. Even though it was a skeleton, it seemed peaceful. Somehow as if it was sleeping and not dead.

And somehow Youyi also knew that this was Wan, the only one whom might understand his nature was dead.

"DAMN IT" he shouted, punching his fist into the stone. Another lead dead, and him lost without a clue. He shrunk down and rested against the rock.

"Youyi"

What was that?

"Youyi"

It was faint, like a whisper, and I originated from nowhere in particular. As if the air itself was speaking to him, yet somehow his eyes were drawn to Wan's body.

"Wan?"

"I can help you understand"

"Huh?" he asked looking towards the skeleton "Wan you're alive"

Absentmindedly he brushed the skeleton with his fingers, then the voices stopped, as a purple crack started to form.

"Nonononononoooo" he whimpered as the crack started to break through the earth. What had he done?

The crack started to light up in a magenta glow, as mist started to break through the ground. Youyi started to back away as suddenly a thousand separate hands reached through the cracks.

Dark spirits, and there were thousands of them. Erupting from the crack in the Earth like corpses rising from graves.

He started to fling gusts of air at the spirits as Yan started to unleash an inferno of fire. Until the experience drained him. And he slumped to the ground to be dragged away unconscious.

 **A/N: Chokin will turn up next chapter and we'll learn exactly how he learned energybending then. This chapter serves as an introduction of Youyi, an Avatar who has no clue about what his powers mean, and therefore isolates himself in fear.**

 **One of my personal rules regarding this fanfiction was the turning point between canon and this was that Chokin met Korra. That is to say all the new lore, history and energybending philosophy, even Chokin (in the background) must be theoretically possible in canon. This is why I included the sunwarriors, as they were the original human firebenders, though we have little knowledge on the other elements.**

 **Also this backstory may seem abrupt, I just needed to tell it before book 2, and there weren't many cut off points.**


	20. Answers

**Answers**

 **A/N: People change over time. Therefore, a ten thousand year younger Chokin should be quite different. Also I'm not sure this will remain when uploading this chapter but when writing this for some reason every second line onwards in a paragraph was moved to the right for some reason. Sorry for inconvenience, it stops near the end thankfully.**

 **Youyi**

"Urggh" his head felt as if it was splitting in two. As if he'd drunken a vat of Shocho and then gone and slammed into a wall. He opened his eyes, only for a sharp spike of pain to cut through his head. Slamming his eyes shut.

"If you're conscious sir, then you can walk. And that's good, because we need to get to Master Quexi before the dark spirits" said an unfamiliar voice. It one of politeness like a servant of an earth house.

"you-why-what was that?" he asked, his eyes still shut.

"Somehow, it seems you've opened a tear in the worlds. It is unfortunate that you tapped into the plain of dark spirits" said the voice.

Youyi forced his eyes open, ignoring his sharp headache. He realised he'd been laid to rest upon a pillage of leaves, while Yan seemed to be curled in the corner in pain. His wings purple.

"Yan?" he asked concerned.

"Your dragon will be fine, but a dark spirit got inside him, we'll need to bring him to Master Quexi" explained the voice.

He turned to see a pale blue spirit, with backward knees and three fingered hands. He had several markings running down him in a darker shade of blue. Currently this spirit was rubbing two sticks together to make fire.

"Let me help with that" he offered, bending a flame into the assortment of twigs.

"Thank you Human" said the spirit, offering two hands in a bow.

"The name's erm Chen" he lied, instinctively.

"A pleasure to meet you Chen" the spirit said, bowing formally "my name is Chokinate Spirit of Progress but call me Chokin"

"Nice to meet you" Youyi dismissed getting up, only to realise he had several needles pined into different points in his body.

"Could you erm, remove these?" he asked, unable to move easily.

"Of course" said Chokin, removing his needles.

"How did we get here?" he asked, feeling a separate migraine come on just from all the questions.

"When you collapsed, I was fortunately in the vicinity on Master Quexi's request and saved you from the dark spirits" Chokin answered "Master Quexi could explain more"

Seemed this spirit really admired this Master Quexi, well he had nothing to lose by going to see him. And this spirit did save his life, so he could trust him for now.

The spirit was looking over him "We've got to move"

Youyi looked to where Chokin was looking, it was supposed to be a beautiful landscape of grasslands, a splendour of nature, one that could so easily be a work of art.

Instead only half was what it was supposed to be, as the horizon was tainted with purple, corrupted lands and barren wastelands. Dark spirits could be seen stripping the grasslands like insects.

"By the spirits" he gasped.

"Could be worse, could be inhabited" pointed out Chokin, "Come on, we're not far"

They walked in silence, leading them was the spirit, whom hiked briskly, Youyi was following, panting slightly trying to keep up. Yan plodding slowly behind them, his wings still infected by a dark spirit.

They hiked through mountains, across ravines. Their altitude steadily rising steadily, Yan, unfortunately, was unable to fly them as a result of his infection. They walked in relative silence, the silence only broken for clarifications, or requests for rest.

Eventually though Youyi started to voice, another question that was on his mind.

"Weren't all you spirits sent to your world after the war?" Youyi asked.

"They were… but I'm much an exception. I was banished by the spirits a long time ago. They would have killed me had it not been for Raava" he slowed, and mumbled "Raava I never got to tell you"

"Tell her what?" Youyi asked

The Spirit jumped in shock, he appeared to have forgotten Youyi could still hear him.

"Oh…umm gee. Well… ahh" Chokin stammered rubbing his neck sheepishly "I never got to tell her… how grateful I was that she saved me"

Youyi decided to spare the spirit further humiliation and asked a different question "Well why did they try to kill you?"

"Nature yields to progress. They hoped to preserve nature through destroying me. Raava saved my life, and provided me shelter with Master Quexi and the humans" he explained, a lot more calmly than the stuttering mess he was just a few seconds ago.

"Right, so we're headed to this Master Quexi? Right" asked Youyi "He'll know what to do?"

"If anyone knows what to do, he does. He's one the wisest living beings in the world" said Chokin.

"And can he explain how to close the portals?" he begged, maybe he could also tell him what his condition was. And maybe he could cure him of the four elements.

"Well can you, Master Quexi?" asked Chokin looking towards a hill.

Suddenly there was a tremor as the hill started to wake. It rose, as sand fell down the ancient shell. An huge creature with the face of a lion and the shell of a turtle rose from the mountain.

"A lion turtle. Probably should've guessed that" Youyi shrugged.

"You have returned" he said to the spirit.

"Yes, Master Quexi. This human, Chen, he's opened a hole to the dark spirit world and put the whole world in danger" explained Chokin.

"It was an accident" defended Youyi.

"Your companion" said Quexi, pointing towards Yan, whom slept with his wings corrupted. The great lion rose two fingers to Yan's head and neck, it's eyes glowed green like the leaves of trees.

Instantly the purple on Yan's wings decayed away, as Yan instantly fell asleep. Youyi placed a hand on his neck in comfort as the creature rested, feeling him breathe in his sleep. He then turned to the lion turtle.

"Master Lion Turtle, I must ask you for answers" Youyi begged, falling to his knees.

"Chen?" asked Chokin confused.

"Ever since I was a child, I mastered the element of air. Then I kept finding I had access to more elements, water, earth and even fire. I shouldn't do that. No one can surivive that" he begged "You must remove them… please"

The lion started to raise his claw, which Youyi immediately repelled with airbending.

"What are you doing?" asked Youyi.

"It's energybending, only the lion turtles can do it, despite my best efforts. Hopefully it'll remove your excess bending" explained the spirit.

The great being raised a paw, placing a nail to his head and heart. The lion's eyes glowed green. As Youyi felt a wave of energy wash over him, as if sinking into a hot bath after freezing for days.

The feeling subsided, and he fell to his knees "did you do it?"

"I… I cannot. Something within you prevents me" said Master Quexi "a spirit whom shields you"

"Wha-what are you talking about out" he demanded, looking at his hands as if there was some sort of infection "Get it out, Get it out, GET IT OUT"

"We could try trepanning" suggested Chokin, holding up a hammer and stick that he'd pulled seemingly out of thin air.

"Keep that thing away from me" he yelled backing away from the deranged spirit.

"Youyi" rumbled the great lion turtle, catching him by surprise.

"How did you know my real name?" he asked.

"What? I thought your name was Chen?" asked Chokin "don't know why you bothered kept that a secret?"

"Your name was spoken to me, by the spirit inside. The spirit of light… Raava" rumbled Master Quexi.

The hammer and stick dropped as Chokin looked towards the lion turtle then toward Youyi, his jaw dropped "and what did she say?"

"She had a message for her host" explained Master Quexi "explaining everything"

Here it was, answers for everything, his powers, his life "I'm listening"

"You are the Avatar, a fusion of light and humanity, a bender of all four elements and will bring balance to the world" explained Quexi "you are Wan's reincarnation, so will you continue his quest?"

Stunned Youyi took time to process this new destiny?

"That explains the rift… the imbalance from touching your past life caused a tear in the worlds. And of course we just happened to get unlucky hitting the dark spirit world" added Chokin "but if you're the Avatar 2.0. You could close it like the spririt portal"

"Huh?" he weakly said, his head spinning. Confused he babbled"I…I- wait what are the dark spirits going to do anyway?"

Chokin looked to the lion turtle who answered "They intend to destroy, to butcher as is their nature. They will destroy all of Humanity, your must return to the Sunwarriors… alone. To save them"

"You're not coming?" he begged, Chokin too looked confused.

"This is not our fight" explained Quexi, "but your destiny".

Before Youyi could make a retort he could feel Yan pressing into his back. The message was clear, they had to get to get going. He eventually climbed onto Yan's back, and with one desperate look to the spirit and the lion turtle, Yan started to beat his wings and fly back to the Sunwarrior city.

 **A/N: This chapter was very hard to write, given the severe amount of information that had to be delivered in this chapter. About the Avatar, Chokin's past, the lion turtle, the dark spirits and how the world changed in the light of Wan's death. I hope it wasn't too much of a slog.**

 **If Chokin seems to be acting out of character, you have to remember that this is ten thousand years ago. So this Chokin is a follower rather than a leader, and leaves most decision making to those whom he considers wiser people. His backstory is also very similar to Wan's, only in reverse, this is intentional as if highlights how similar their alliance was.**

 **Also there's a reason he can't energybend but it might take a while before we delve into the nature of the fifth element. Just remember I have a plan.**


	21. The First Energybender

**The First Energybender**

 **A/N: Just managed to find my first beta reader TurtlePower98 who'll be helping proofread my chapters from now. Thank you TurtlePower98**

 **Youyi**

The trip back was shorter than the trip to Wan's… body, but this time there was a dreadful silence. Every time Youyi looked over his shoulder he could see the swarm of dark spirits consume the land. Even the crack that had caused this whole mess seemed to be stretching outward, following its dark spirit children.

Guilt filled him as he reflected on the destruction he had caused. It had been less than a day and already, entire acres of land had suffered from the onslaught. All he could hope to do was redouble his efforts to somehow stop this growing infestation.

It was only a matter of time before it reached the Sun Warriors. He and Yan couldn't even completely lose track of the horde, as it remained on the horizon.

The two red rock mountains of Tai and Yo came into view. These were the two mountains that sheltered the village from storms on the left and right side of the village, with the sea at the back of the town by the sun altar. It wasn't long before Yan and Youyi swooped down as the villagers started to gather around them.

Master Taiyang was among them, "Youyi, where have you been? We've been worried sick."

"No time" he yelled, "look there's a horde of dark spirits approaching right here. We need to go"

"Mommy, look" said Alena, one of the youngest of the villagers, "why is the sky purple?"

Youyi could feel the colour drain from his face, as he saw what she was pointing to. It was the swarm of dark spirits over the horizon, countless numbers of violent, savage killers were galloping towards this village of innocent people. There were already here. There was no time to evacuate, how could they possibly move so fast?

Taiyang immediately realised what was happening "everyone follow me, there's a way out through the mountains. Youyi what are you doing just standing there?"

Youyi was still gazing at the tide of death "You'll never make it out in time. Yan will fly the children away… I'll hold them off"

Taiyang grabbed his shoulder "Don't be stupid, there's got to be thousands of them"

Youyi shook him off, and turned seeing that parents had already loaded their children onto Yan "I'm the only one who stands a chance of slowing them down"

"You're just a firebender, a good one. A prodigy even, but you can't possibly win against that many"

They were close to the tunnel, that could lead them to safety if given enough time. "No, but you'll live"

Before they could debate it further, he bent a gust of air at the remaining Sun Warriors tumbling them into the tunnel. Then before they could get to their feet he sealed the entrance with earthbending forcing them to leave him behind.

"Yan get out of here" he yelled, the great dragon with the children on his back bowed to him than flew away. With the children's, and his own last hope for salvation.

He turned to the dark hordes, they'd broken through the walls. The shapes of the individuals were indiscernible, a variety of creatures. Like twisted versions of hounds, hawks or other abominations. They pounded into earth with a savagery that tore the ground into mud, they numbered beyond count.

He could feel his limbs drip from his control, moving solely by instinct. His face palled in the wake of his impending doom while his throat dried to a crisp. But in the distance, he could see the faint sign of a shell, as anger sparked within him. The injustice of being abandoned, and given this curse of being this Avatar, and being expected to die.

It gave way to something, a surge of power, but with it, a loss of control. His muscles moved of their own accord, though the force did not feel hostile nor controlling. Instead it felt as if he was guided by a force of unimaginable power yet was still his own to control. His eyes glowed in brilliant cyan as he was swept off his feet in a gust of wind that surged him into the sky, the air beneath his feet wrapped around his foot like a beetle-snake. At his foot, the strip of air sprayed a gust of wind keeping him airborne. His other foot kicked, unleashing flames that similarly wrapped their way along his leg. Instinctively, he lurched his arms back, pulling from the mountains and ocean behind him. In his left hand he crushed the boulders to the size of pebbles, and had them orbit his right arm. The water he channelled to flow around his left. Despite the fact he'd never done this before, and should be completely alien to him, it felt familiar. He even knew what it was. The Avatar State.

The spirits, seeing this had plunged themselves at him like daggers. But he immediately reacted in kicking an inferno of fire into the swarm. They scattered like bugs, some caught alight, dissipating into thin air, while others swerved and started to engage him.

They plunged into him, claws into his chest. Sending him soaring to the ground, though he lashed out with a whip of water freeing himself, and a gust of wind saved him from becoming a pancake, mere inches from the ground. He'd barely regained himself before a pack of hound-like spirits started to charge towards him.

He slammed his hand into the ground, pulling the rock into a wall to protect him against the spirits. Then he jumped into the air, releasing a kick of wind into the dark spirits from above, added with an wave of water. Until claws stabbed into his back as a dark spirit struck into him from behind.

Attempting to possess him, he fell to the floor, his muscles seizing as if he were holding a mountain, until the darkness was expunged. Though he was no longer in the Avatar State.

He was surrounded by dark spirits as he continued to battle. He hadn't fought for long, he had to keep going. He heaved a boulder, chucking it towards one of the closest spirits, and started to back away from the swarm, firing balls of fire as he fell back.

Two spirits leapt at him, jaws outstretched, but he unleashed a gust of wind, slamming the two together, who degenerated into tears of dark substance before burning into non-existence. He fired one last ball of fire, but he was exhausted and was feeling his consciousness drip away, as the fire splattered harmlessly against one of the dark beasts.

He stood there panting, surrounded, with death closing in on him.

 **Chokin**

It was like being on a cloud, you could see everything, yet you couldn't interfere as you watched people fight and bleed. The dark spirits were going to slaughter everyone in the village, and who knows how many after that. He knew Master Quexi must have some reason, something that justified this mess, some angle he couldn't see. But it pained him that he stood aside, his trust in Master Quexi slipping.

"You seem troubled" rumbled Master Quexi.

"Of course I am, these people are suffering. I don't understand. Why aren't we helping?" he demanded.

"This is simply not our fight, the humans brought it upon themselves. When they opened a spirit portal"

Anger, fury, injustice bubbled within him "THAT'S IT?" he screamed at Master Quexi taking him by surprise "THAT IS YOUR ONLY JUSTIFICATION FOR STANDING ASIDE AS INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE? THAT A HUMAN ACCIDENTALLY OPENED THE CRACK? THAT MEANS THAT IT'S OKAY FOR INNOCENT CHILDREN TO DIE, AND FOR HUSBANDS AND WIVES TO BECOME WIDOWS?"

He stopped, a small breath "but this isn't your fight"

That single sentence from Master Quexi, dissolved all respect he had for him "How? People are dying, that makes it my fight. Why would I need more reason than that?"

He immediately pulled back, about to jump in and save those people when he felt the smallest part of a paw pulling him back.

"You cannot solve their every problem" said Quexi "When you solve one problem, you only give rise to another. It must be left to them to fend for themselves. You save them every time"

"I will not give up, I will not abandon them. I have faith in these humans, and will fight every threat that comes to them. No matter how many may come. That future will always be better than if I stand apart" he retorted.

Immediately he could feel a feeling within him, a new power. A strength that he always had, that was a part of him. Only dormant and trapped. Impossible to move, or adapt before, but now it was as easy as moving one's hand. As he pulled this force out of him, it melded with the world and became light breaking Quexi's grip.

"Impossible" murmured Quexi.

 **Youyi**

He was backing away, the horde moved as a single entity, unyielding in nature.

A claw swiped at his legs.

He jumped, spraying flames onto the spirit.

He slammed back down into the ground, creating a tidal wave of earth. Causing several spirits to dissipate, but for every ten he defeated another thousand swarmed to replace them. Sapped of strength, it was all Youyi could do to keep standing, never mind fight.

By now he was fighting just to keep his eyes open, even as they fought desperately to shut down. To fall asleep, and to deny that this battle was going on around them.

A particularly large spirit had approached him, pulling its huge paw to strike. Youyi cooked a feeble fireball in his hand. But it was at that moment that a beam of silver light appeared from nowhere, torching the dark spirit alight. He looked to the source, and saw a single humanoid figure, radiating with silver light. There was a T-shape on its face that glowed even lighter, while the being didn't actually appear to walk. Rather it skimmed across the ground, an inch above.

It skimmed in front of Youyi offering a hand, he took it, noticing it was cool to the touch.

"Thank you, err what are you?" he begged.

 **"You do not recognise me? I am Chokin, and I believe I am the first spirit energybender in the world"** explained Chokin.

"I thought you said that only lion turtles could energybend?" he stammered, confused.

 **"Apparently we were mistaken"** he said, shifting out of his 'energy' form of pure silver into the more natural spirit form "These creatures are anomalies, if we close the crack then they can't sustain themselves and will disappear"

"We'd have to fight through this entire swarm" he stammered "there has to be thousands of them"

"I know it sounds arrogant but with this power" he said, re-entering his 'energy' form **"That sounds far too easy"**

He immediately pushed a huge shockwave of light into the swarm clearing several in a single move. Then in the skies he ripped three jagged bolts of light and slammed into the swarm pulsing outward.

Getting his second wind, he could feel the Avatar State overtake him again. He immediately celebrated this power by thrusting himself into the air, and kicking a stream of fire into the crowd.

They dispersed as he slammed back into the ground, pulling up three boulders and throwing them into three separate spirits, including one that had snuck up behind Chokin.

Chokin gave him a thumbs up before guiding a stream of light into several spirits. The two of them worked seamlessly together, fighting their way through the swarm as easily as if they were wading through water. The spirits seemed unable to match the power of the two benders. Eventually after an hour of fighting they fought their way towards the crack, Chokin threw up a bubble to energy around them as he prepared to close the portal. At this point he realised there was a problem

"Err Chokin how do you close the crack?" he asked timidly.

"Y-You're kidding right?" said Chokin, as the bubble became attacked by hundreds of dark spirits "the same way you would close the spirit portals"

"And how would you do that?"

"YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW"

"This Avatar thing didn't come with a handbook"

"Try touching it" Chokin yelled, feeling the shield constrict as the spirits forced on it.

"Nothing"

"The thing where your eyes glow, use that"

"Got it" he shouted as the crack started to recede, the dark spirits dissipated as the portal closed, leaving the familiar skeleton behind.

Chokin collapsed onto the ground exhausted, Youyi fell on his hands and knees, "we did it" he murmured.

"Yeah, we won, woo" said Chokin, punching a fist in the air. Only for it too fall immediately to the ground, "never mind, too tired to celebrate"

They lay collapsed in the ground, apathetic in a way that only saving the world could achieve. Eventually Youyi broke the silence "so the last time we met you said that this wasn't your fight. What changed?"

Chokin explained everything that had happened between when he'd left and returned. Including a word by word account of the speech he'd given to the lion-turtle, Youyi however couldn't help but burst out laughing half way through.

"What?" asked Chokin indignantly.

"Nothing, it's quite inspiring. Just a bit cheesy" he smiled.

"I am unaware that speeches are dairy products" replied Chokin.

"You're joking right?"

Chokin responded with a simple "Yep" to which Youyi burst out laughing. Not that it was funny, he was happy to have lived.

"Are you going to go back to that lion-turtle now?" he asked eventually.

"No I don't think so. I'm not sure what to do, I mean with this new element I have to do something right?" answered Chokin.

"Maybe you can teach me energybending" Youyi suggested.

"Perhaps, I'm still kind of new at this though" said Chokin, "I suppose we're heroes or something now, destined to help bring balance or what not"

"You're not going to try and take over the world or something else" he joked.

"Why would I? It'd be evil, plus what would I do with it?" Chokin dismissed "so er… teammates, friends?"

"Let's go teammates, I suppose" Youyi confirmed, "Team Chokin"

"You mean Team Avatar" said Chokin, "sounds better"

 **Korra**

She blinked, having been thrown back into the plane where a much older Youyi, and herself resided. Youyi looking at her expectantly.

"So that was interesting" she answered eventually. It was true, she wasn't sure she believed Chokin completely before when he'd said he'd known all the previous avatars. But now she was certain, "I don't know why you showed me it though"

"It's just…" Youyi stammered "Chokin was more than a friend. To us, to all the Avatars who knew him personally, he was like a father or a brother"

"Father?" she picked curiously at that word.

"He raised us, in past lives. When tragedy made us orphans he would take us in, and other times he'd grow up with us. Shrinking down to our height, to always be our equal" he smiled, nostalgically. Then he looked at Korra seriously.

"We-We want it to work. It broke our hearts when he left, we understand why. But we missed him, we had depended on him. We, the ancient avatars, we want… would like you to convince him to stay" begged Youyi.

"But why did he leave. He won't tell me" she demanded.

Youyi seemed conflicted eventually though he seemed resolute "That's Chokin's secret to keep"

It was then that Korra felt the world shift as she woke up. Looking to the sun she noticed she had only had the vision for the night. If she wanted to, she could pretend she had just been asleep. She was looking at the sunset, remembering what Chokin, had told Youyi, that he told that lion turtle.

'I will not give up, I will not abandon them. I have faith in these humans, and will fight every threat. No matter how many may come.'

Except one thing was too much, at one point even he'd given up. But what?

 **A/N: So this concludes the Youyi arc. The reason this arc exists is to show how Chokin used to work with the past avatars. It was also because I became paranoid that it was wasn't good enough just saying that Chokin knew the past Avatar, and that I had to show it.**

 **I also hope it's clear that Chokin was never just some sidekick. And I imagine there were sometimes when someone would attempt to kidnap or kill the Avatar as an infant (like the red lotus tried to do) that Chokin would take the Avatar in as his own child. I may one day, write that in action. Other times Chokin would use his shape shifting so that he could be the avatar's friend, and quite literally grow up alongside them. Chokin does this as he doesn't want to be seen as a parent, but as a friend.**

 **I also wanted to show Chokin's motivation was something as simple as wanting humanity to do well. That's all he really needed, and I personally think that's stronger than having something that compels him to do it.**


	22. Contest

**Contest**

 **A/N: I skipped most of the pro-bending as it would have for the most part played out the same. Until the tournament**

 **Korra**

As she headed down the stairs she saw that Chokin was already at the table as was usual, along with a handful of white lotus sentries. Currently he had several large books, newspapers clippings and a typewriter piled onto the table, he looked up and smiled as Korra came over.

"Hey Chokin" she said sitting down "what is it you're working on?"

"This is what I call the Korra reforms. Going to the gala last night made me realise I needed to get working on the equalists. So I decided that the best way is set laws to improve the lives for non-benders, and stop them from becoming equalists" he said typing away with a smile on his face "I've got to say this typewriter makes things a thousand times easier. No one could read my handwriting before, and this way I can type out a thousand copies no issue"

"The Korra accords?" she asked curious.

"Well I can't call ANOTHER critically important legal document the Chokin accords. It's gotten old" he defended earnestly, then he looked up from his writing "had a nice vision?"

"How could you possibly know?" she asked shocked.

"I know the Avatar better than anyone. I can just tell these things" he smiled.

She recovered quickly "It was an Avatar called Youyi I saw, he showed me when you first met. How you saved his life from all those dark spirits"

Chokin smiled filled with nostalgia "Youyi was courageous, determined and a great friend. I remember the look on his face when I was introduced to the concept of birthdays and gift giving. It is one of my many treasured memories"

"What did you get him?" she asked curiously.

"I tracked down his family, and brought them over for a surprise visit" smiled Chokin.

"That- that must have been brilliant" she said imagining it and feeling a sense of nostalgia not from her own memories.

"Yep, it was" said Chokin smiling widely, then he sighed "it's unfortunate"

"What's unfortunate? Did something happen to him in the end?" she asked.

"No, no nothing like that he just didn't get his final wish" he said quickly "he was trying to cure himself of being the Avatar"

"What? Why would anyone ever want to not be an Avatar" she demanded, confused. She couldn't imagine that, "It's the greatest thing ever"

"I know, and I completely agree. But it was his wish, and he didn't get it" he said sadly, then he smiled "that's enough dwelling on the past. You've got the final tournament today"

GAK how did she forget? She'd going through the matches between the equalists, Amon and the Gala for the last month. Even though she'd entered on a lark, she'd somehow managed to get through the tournament without much problem, and thus far they'd won every game.

Which had somehow brought them to the finals. "GAK"

"Korra you have won every game so far no problem. What makes this one different?" asked Chokin, taken off-guard by her sudden anxiety.

"If I lost before, it would just have been a rookie being kicked out. Now it's expected I win" she stressed, pulling her wolf tails.

"I'm not even going to pretend this stress makes any sense whatsoever" lamented Chokin, turning on the radio for some classical music. Until there was brief static and the music stops. A familiar gravelly voice took over the radio.

"People of Republic City this is Amon. There are those of you whom whisper, who believe that we have no purpose. Those who delude themselves"-Chokin snorted "into believing that we are of no relevance. But now it is of the time of our most upmost importance, we are the only shield against this monster. And to those whom continue to live the lie then you will see it burn in the flames of the bending arena"

The interruption ended, and the music resumed, sickening upbeat in contrast to what had just been transmitted. Korra let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the transmission ended, while Chokin appeared lost in thought. Eventually he broke the silence by asking "just how does he keep getting on the radio?"

"Who cares, after hearing this the city council might shutdown the arena" she shouted, plunging out of her chair. Chokin much more lazily, and in much less of a rush stretched out of his seat.

"Yeah I suppose so… here" he said handing her a phone "I don't know how to call the others to meet us there"

Five minutes of quick calls had the team ready to meet at the city capital. Twenty minutes after that the Team were gathered at city hall, as Bolin politely knocked on the door. Before the council had an opportunity to address the door Korra had slammed it open, storming into the room.

"Korra we-"Tenzin started

"I heard Amon on the radio. You can't just close down the bending arena" Korra started.

"Now I know when you're young it's difficult to keep perspective" started Tenzin, to which Chokin started laughing. Grabbing a column to support himself as he slid down it.

"Is something funny" asked Tenzin irritated.

"It's just the irony. You called me young, I'm older than all of you combined. And don't get me started on perspective, when you're all cowering in fear of cosplayers in new year costumes" smiled Chokin "do you truly believe this is a part of some master plan?"

Everyone in the room looked at each other. That was indeed what they were thinking. When nobody broke the silence Chokin decided to continue.

"You really are fools the lot of you… you imagine Amon being some sort of mastermind don't you? He's just an idiot, who's willing to kill, which is just as idiotic" droned on Chokin his voice dripping with mockery "and contrary to popular belief idiots don't make political decisions. So why should Amon decide this one?"

The council looked at each other, a silent debate rippled among them "All those in favour of closing the arena" asked Tarrlock, only Tenzin raised his hand.

"And those in favour of keeping it open?" he continued, as the other four members rose their hands.

"Well in that case, the arena stays open" he announced pounding his gavel "good luck in the finals"

Immediately on exiting the council room Bolin rushed to give Chokin a hug "thankyouthankyouthankyou" he squealed.

Chokin awkwardly patted Bolin on the head while Mako punched him playfully in the arm "Great job, you told those idiots"

Chokin shrugged "Well I did pay the pot and it wasn't cheap"

"You did? How did you get the money?" asked Mako sceptically.

"I've had some buried treasures that became quite valuable over four thousand years" he explained "I'm a millionaire now"

"Wait why have I been using my allowance to buy everything when you're a billionaire?" demanded Asami.

"Because that way I don't have to pay for anything" dismissed Chokin. One death glare from Asami later and Chokin decided that he would pay for everything from now on.

"In any case, we've got to train for the finals" said Mako gruffly.

Silently though Korra couldn't help but feel neglected and overshadowed.

 **Asami**

It was the last day of the tournament, and the equalist threat had not dissuaded many people from turning out. The arena was as packed as was usual for the season finals, though this time littered with police patrols and task force members looking into every inch of the stadium.

They were all huddled in the fire ferret box. Chokin was eying the arena like an eagle-hawk, Mako was edgier than usual while Bolin was giving a pep talk to Pabu.

Korra meanwhile was sitting twiddling her thumbs, uncharacteristically still and unsure of herself. Asami checked her watch, they still had thirty minutes until the match. She sat down on the bench next to her.

"You nervous about the match?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh sure that too" she murmured.

"Amon?"

Korra didn't reply.

"Don't worry about that, half of the police force is here providing protection, plus me and Chokin will be checking things out" she reassured her.

"You shouldn't be" Korra said, before turning away as if something she said something horrid.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Korra shook her head, but when her eyes shifted to Chokin, Asami could immediately tell the problem was something she didn't want him to hear.

"You want to come outside?" she asked, Korra seemed conflicted. But eventually started to nod, when they were outside she shut the door and sank down onto a bench.

"What's the problem?" demanded Asami, strictly.

"Don't know… it's stupid anyway. I'm being stupid" she chastised.

"You're not stupid Korra, now explain this to me" she demanded, unwilling to placate this line of reasoning.

She sighed "I just, I should have beaten Amon. I was there at the temple, I faced him and I lost"

"I'm sure you'll have another chance" she reminded her, but Korra shook her head.

"It's not that, this going to sound super immature. It's Chokin, I'm starting to think he would make a better Avatar… it's pathetic isn't it" she smiled weakly.

Asami thought that fear was ridiculous "how did you get that idea?"

"He just, he seems to know what to do. About this, the Equalists and the city. And I certainly don't, you saw how easily he got the council to keep the arena open. I couldn't do that, and he saved mine, Tenzin's, Bolin's and Mako's bending. He's been doing this for hundreds of years Asami he doesn't need me. I get the feeling he has a plan, but I really don't" she murmured.

"Where's this coming from?" she asked.

"Last night, I had a vision from my past lives, it was about how Chokin and him met. But afterwards that Avatar practically begged me to ensure he stayed, just seemed off-putting"

"This is what's been bothering you" she said.

"I know it's stupid" she smiled, weakly.

"I'm not sure it is, we all have to find a place in this world" she said truthfully "you might know you're the Avatar but maybe you don't what that purpose is"

Korra's fingers clutched into knees, but she remained silent. Then she sighed "I've got a match to win" Getting up, throwing on her helmet and running to the rest of the team.

She intentionally took a while entering back into the team room, to allow Korra to get there first. She saw the three start to enter the stage as the platform extended to lead the fire ferrets to their match. She wondered if she had said had angered her, but Korra didn't show any sign of continued anger. As the crowds started to cheer she noticed was with her at the door, apparently leaving she and Korra had left.

"I did a sweep of the building and checked areas the police wouldn't look. There wasn't anything, so they must be among the crowd. And we can't search everyone. So look behind you every few seconds to ensure no one approaches" said Chokin, leading Asami to do a quick glance behind her. "Also I found this in the ref's room"

He handed out a signed poster of the Wolfbats "It appears the refs are the Wolfbat's biggest fan"

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, there are two reasons for this. The first was writer's block, I didn't really know what direction I wanted this chapter to take so it took a while to write. The second reason is that I've heard no word from my beta reader since I sent this to be spell checked, and at this point I just have to upload.**

 **Anyway, the reason that the pro-bending was skipped was also because it's boring to write for. In stories it's boring to write and read just action scenes that don't amount to much, so I just skip the ones that don't add anything to the story.**

 **Thank you so much for being patient, and please review if you like this story, or follow/favourite**


	23. Reunion

**Reunion**

 **A/N: For the sake of clarity from now on any author's notes/ new perspectives will be bold and underlined. Any Avatar State dialog will be bold, but any speech from Chokin in his energy form will be bold and italic.**

 **Korra**

She took a deep breath as the three ferrets started to walk onto the stage, the crowds delivering a mixture of deafening taunts, jeers and boos. These ones steeled her, and only made her more determined to win. The cheers and encouragement however were ironically what got under her skin, making her nervous and anxious. The fear of disappointment was greater than her fear of embarrassment it seemed.

"You're up, Pabu," encouraged Bolin, letting Pabu crawl down his shoulder and start doing some acrobatics on the stage amongst Bolin's silent cheering. Korra couldn't help but feel a slight bit of humiliation at the lacklustre spectacle.

"And introducing the several-year-long-reigning-Champions, the White Falls Wolfbats!" shouted the announcer. Leading a deafening howl, likely using speakers, to tear through the air. Sparks were showered across the stadium, a mixture of purple and black, the colours of the Wolfbats. They must have spent their entire winnings from the last tournament just to promote their egos.

"Hmmph, they've got nothing on us buddy. Anyone can howl…woo" Bolin scoffed. Truer words had never been spoken.

The Wolfbats swaggered up to the arena, amongst the unnecessary gothic music, dropping their cape and mask with arrogant lopsided smirks.

The timer dinged, and Tahno immediately pulled water from Korra's side of the arena. It plunged into her, staggering her forwards. As her vision started to swirl, she saw a handful of earth discs plunge towards her. She strafed backwards, throwing two shots of water as she fell back.

To her left she saw an earth disc break into three before hitting Mako in illegal headshots, causing him to be flung back into zone two. Meanwhile the firebender unleashed a firestorm onto Bolin that exceeded the time limit.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA REF?" demanded Mako, but the ref simply waved his arms to continue. Only a handful of seconds later a timer ringed as the first round went to the Wolfbats, as a result of blatant cheating on their parts.

 **Asami**

"Darn ref that was a clear breaking of the rule against the fire bending time limit, and they used water from the wrong side of the arena and- "

"Okay I get it," interrupted Chokin, a bored expression on his face, "it's just a game anyway."

"A GAME?!" she all but shouted, "It's a sport, an art of bending masters. People from all over the world listen and compete for the honour and-"she ranted.

"Okay I'm sorry, I'm sorry can you please let go of me?" he begged. Asami blinked when she realised she had subconsciously grabbed Chokin's shoulders and began throwing him back and forth. Upon realising this she immediately let go and started to apologise. She heard Chokin mumble something undistinguishable, though she heard Korra's name dropped.

"ROUND ONE GOES TO THE WHITE FALLS WOLFBATS" echoed the commentator, making Asami completely forget her previous embarrassment as anger overtook her.

"They should replace that ref with a better one. I'm going to-"she started to shout.

"Do what?" asked Chokin "Go up there and demand the referee give up his biased judgement? In case you've forgotten we're supposed to be on the lookout for Equalists, not be a committee on fair refereeing."

There was unfortunately too much truth in this to ignore so instead she looked for help "Then you do something."

"Me? What can I do? Go up there and join the fire ferrets?" scoffed Chokin.

That wasn't a bad idea "Well technically the rules don't have a limit on how many benders there are, just one from each element, so-"

"No Asami, that'd be far cheatier, if that's even a word, then what?" interrupted Chokin. His eyes sparkled, "but I have a different idea."

 **Korra**

"Chump" she smirked, throwing Tahno from the platform and winning the tie breaker.

"THE SECOND ROUND GOES TO THE FIRE FERRETS" screamed the commentator. Leading to an eruption of cheers among the those in the crowd not smitten with the Wolfbats arrogance.

"Nice one, Korra," shouted Bolin.

"We might actually win this thing," enthused Mako, punching her on the shoulder.

Tahno meanwhile removed himself from the floor. Angrily flipping his hair back into place and shooting a murderous glare at her and her team. The look spoke a silent threat as the two sides lined back up.

"And now, everyone welcome to your celebrity commentator of this match. And I'll be here to give a perfectly accurate and fair commentary."

The two teams drew their heads to the commentator podium. How in the world did Chokin become the commentator?

The bell dinged, but when she started to fall back from the starting line she felt herself slip on ice. She regained her footing, but only in zone two.

"And it appears that the waterbender on the wolfbat team, Danno I think his name was? Well he appears to have never read the rulebook, should Danno really be playing if he doesn't know the rules?" asked Chokin over the microphone.

"MY NAME IS TAHHHH-" he screamed, as Bolin took advantage of his distraction and shot an earth disk into his chest, which Korra followed up with two water blasts that plunged him over the line.

"Well it appears that 'Tahhhh' is over the line and into zone three. Hopefully the other members of the cheating wolfbats will follow him there," announced Chokin, his voice dripping with mockery.

Korra dodged a poorly aimed fireball and returned with her own water stream that narrowly missed their firebender.

"And now it appears that the wolfies are making rocks into water, to fire at the fire ferrets, whose best chance would be to intercept those blasts with blasts of her own," announced Chokin, no sooner had his warning come than Bolin was blasted off the side and into the water.

Korra reacted by throwing her own water stream at the one coming towards her, which was blasted apart. She cringed as she heard Mako go flying off the edge, leaving her alone in facing the remaining wolfbats.

Korra pulled water, thrusting it at the two closest wolfbats and pushing them back a zone. She charged forward, hoping to deliver a finishing blow, only to slip on ice formed on the ground. Before she could regain her footing, she felt the full force of an earth disk hit her in her head, firing her into the water.

 **Asami**

"And with several completely unfair and illegal headshots the wolfbats are disqualified from the tournament! No wait… apparently they won? Fully seeing that the correct and most effective path to victory is apparently to cheat your way through," announced Chokin, turning off the microphone "so as it turns out, you can't change the turnout of a game with a biased commentary. I wasted thirty-thousand Yuans, plus the ten-thousand Yuans I used to bribe the commentator."

"We can't let them just get away with this. We have to do something," she demanded, how could those people just let the Wolfbats cheat? Those headshots could have hurt Korra.

"Asami…" sighed Chokin getting up from his seat, then his eyes suddenly went wide "DUCK!"

Taken aback, she obeyed as a pulse of silver-grey light erupted from Chokin's hands and blasted into the Equalist behind her. It wasn't the only one, for his friends had infiltrated the crowds. Across the stadium various blue electric lights lit up the crowds like flies to a bug zapper.

She herself saw that the Equalist who attacked her was not alone, for three others had followed through the doors. Stunned by the presence of herself and Chokin, they froze, which was a vital mistake. Chokin cooked a ball of energy in his hands and thrust it outward, splitting into three and punching into the Equalists. Their muscles seized and contracted before their eyes went black. Frozen, as if turned to stone.

"Always appreciated that technique, harmless yet effective," said Chokin. Tangles of light grew from his fingers, wrapping their way around the Equalists.

"Chokin. Korra," she said, pointing towards the water where Korra, Mako and Bolin had been electrocuted and were being pulled to the platform unconscious.

Chokin rushed over the window, looking where she was pointing, "We have company as well," he said pointing to Amon arriving by extension "you help Korra."

"What are you-"she started, but Chokin had already disappeared "right."

Before running after Korra though Asami noticed the glove that one of the Equalist's had been carrying. Clearly an electric weapon of some sorts, probably responsible for their ability to take down police officers. It was surprisingly familiar in its design, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

She took the glove, and it felt alien as she slid it on her hands. A weapon, designed to hurt people. It felt inhuman, as if someone had sown someone else's hand onto her own. These thoughts were pushed back in her mind, the current situation taking the full control of her thoughts.

She ran down to the fire ferret box, meeting little resistance along the way. From here she could see Amon walking onto the pro-bending stage, seemingly intangible to the Wolfbat's retaliation. Their attacks were unable to make contact with him and constantly missed, at best grazing his clothing.

Asami knew she should be helping Korra, but she couldn't find the strength to move, as if her own feet were rooted into place. As if her own brain had stopped functioning and had to restart, leaving her paralysed to watch.

Seemingly effortlessly Amon had dispatched the three pro-athletes, and they were restrained by six of Amon's equalists. Their masked eyes were unforgiving of the poor benders.

Tahno was thrown to the floor first, his arrogant smirk and confident demeanour gone. He was instead pitiful, his hair was messed up, eyes were darting, looking for any hope of escape, and a thick layer of sweat covered his forehead, mixed with tears gushing from his eyes. Amon felt no pity, ripping his thumb along his cheek like a knife.

Suddenly, a blur thrust down from the ceiling of the building, landing onto the stadium. A ripple of blue and silver light rippled(maybe use a different verb here, since you've already used "ripple" once in this paragraph) from the point of impact, like a stone being dropped in water. From the centre of the impact, Chokin snapped up to his feet, having apparently thrown himself down from the ceiling.

Before anyone could even blink, Chokin had cooked another ball of light in his hands and thrown it at the Equalists. It split into six, blinding each Equalist and causing them to stagger backwards, releasing each of the Wolfbats. Taking advantage of the opportunity Chokin dived forward, slashing an arc of energy and throwing the Equalists into the water.

Looking down upon the Wolfbats without picking them up, Chokin uttered a single word to them "run."

They obeyed, scrambling across the platform and past Asami. She however still remained rooted in her spot, despite feeling a small ball of fur pass her leg. Transfixed on the stage, she saw Amon grab Chokin by the arm, but he squeezed his way out.

"Amoy, I know you're annoyed about the match, but pitch invasions are hardly the correct response," he mocked, an arrogant smirk on his face.

"You mock me? You are foolish to believe we can be stopped," responded Amon, his voice like ice, as he threw a dagger from his belt at Chokin. It sunk into Chokin's chest and dissolved leaving him little more than bored by the attack.

"Hmmph, let me guess you cannot stop the future. Our time is now. We are unstoppable," mimicked Chokin, his voice exaggerating every syllable to a cartoonish effect, "To think you'd lecture me about the future. When I am the shepherd of it."

Amon's eyes were covered by the mask, but even from this far away Asami could feel them narrow.

"I warned you. Those that will stand in the way of the revolution," Amon threatened, holding up a wireless remote, "will burn."

Chokin immediately lunged. His arm outstretched, but was too late. Amon's thumb had pressed down on the switch, resulting in balls of fire erupting throughout the Stadium. Especially at the supports for the stands, where she could see several Equalists retreating from into the centre. Amon had been stalling.

Asami could feel the ground under her crack, and was flung over the edge, though she managed to grab something. The room around her began to collapse, and items fell dangerously close to her. The cupboard, the table, the bench, all narrowly avoided her as she struggled to stay out the water, barely holding on to a broken bar rail.

Suddenly, the crumbling stopped. The items fell to the ground and simply rolled into the water. Looking over her shoulder she could see why, for Chokin had used his bending to hold the stadium together. Streams of grey-silver light bound the crumbling rubble together like roots, growing from a ball of light that Chokin was maintaining around him in his energy form. He appeared to be close to be collapsing under the strain, completely unable to move.

This gave Amon a perfect opportunity, "You could save yourself if you let them go."

"My… life is hgggh, hardly worth… a thousand," Chokin gasped, his arms fumbling, the strain overwhelming. People were fleeing, but Asami was trapped. All she could do was hang, lacking the strength to pull herself up. She flailed around attempting to avoid falling into the water.

Water that Korra, Mako and Bolin were now swimming in, having somehow broken out of the underside of the stadium. Clearly confused about what had happened, and startled about the energy vines wrapping around the stadium.

"KORRA!" she screamed, desperately flailing in the air to get her attention.

"ASAMI!" she shouted, bending the water into some sort of whirlpool upwards and onto the stands. Here, she was able to hold out a hand. Asami grasped it and was pulled onto the stands.

"Thanks Korra," she said, noticing Korra was looking at her Equalist glove, "I got this off one of those terrorists to defend myself, I swear."

Korra nodded and proceeded then to ask, "What the heck is going on?"

Suddenly Asami realised something, "Korra. Chokin."

Pointing towards the stands, she could see that Chokin had not given up keeping the stadium in one piece. Amon was examining him like a hawk, curious that he refused to let go of the stadium. Chokin's face was directed at Amon, almost goading him.

Amon took the unspoken challenge, thrusting his hand into the back of Chokin's skull and pulling it back. Chokin tried to resist, but even the slightest movement of his hand would damage the structure holding up the stands and send people falling to their deaths.

"Fool," was Amon only words on the matter as he drew a finger onto his forehead.

The streams of light dissipated as Chokin fell to his knees, panting. The ground shook again, throwing Asami to the edge of the stadium. Two strong pillars of stone erupted from the ground, stabilising the box and keeping it upright.

"You okay?" shouted Bolin from below.

"We're fine. Maybe you and Korra could- Korra?" she screamed. But Korra didn't seem to care. The Avatar's eyes were fixed on Amon as he began to escape on a platform being elevated from the stadium by cables.

 **"HOW DARE HIM?"** they said, eyes glowing white. A hundred different people voiced in seething anger.

They charged, throwing themselves into the air, wind thrusting them upwards. A kick of fire tore into the cables, causing Amon to fall back onto the platform. Mercilessly, the Avatars plunged into the platform, and a shockwave of earthbending erupted from the point of impact. Amon was flung across the stadium into the Fire Ferret box, missing Asami by mere inches.

She felt another force narrowly fly past her, making the hairs on her skin stand. The Avatars were not done with him, as a maelstrom of fire erupted from their hands. Fortunately for Amon, his clothes appeared to be fireproof, though that would not leave him unscathed.

 **"HOW DARE YOU?"** screamed the Avatars, a pillar of earth charged directly into Amon, throwing him back.

 **"YOU SCUM!"** they cried, **"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? CAN'T YOU SEE OUR BENDING MEANS EVERYTHING TO US?"**

Another firestorm of flames erupted from their fists, causing even the wall to break behind Amon, flinging him back into the gym. He could have been dead, but the Avatars didn't care.

 **"CHOKIN NEVER USED THAT POWER TO HARM ANYONE, HE ONLY USED IT TO HELP PEOPLE. TO SAVE PEOPLE, EVEN FILTH LIKE YOU!"** they screamed, another blast of hate induced firebending was unleashed upon Amon.

 **"But you didn't care, you simply took it away for your own selfish reasons and for THAT. You will pay the ultimate price,"** they threatened, every syllable wretched in hate. They began bending both a stream of air and fire from each of their hands, the two forces streaming together. It was joined by a separate stream of water from the arena and a chain of rubble propelled by their hands. It was just like what they had almost used against the Fire Lord at the end of the hundred year war. Asami looked away.

Nothing. No scream, no cry of pain, no impact. Looking up, she could see that Chokin had flung himself between the Avatars and Amon, looking at the former fearlessly.

For several seconds the glare continued, like a parent silently berating their child. Then Chokin broke eye contact, not in weakness but with a quick glance at Amon to give an order.

"Run."

He didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet and limped out of the stadium, where the Airship was waiting with a platform extended. The Avatars began to charge after him, but Chokin had grabbed their wrist.

 **"He's getting away,"** they demanded, though they made no effort to pull themselves free.

"Precisely. I would prefer a liar at the head of this revolution then a martyr," he said, sternly.

 **"He took you're bending away,"** they said, upset at Chokin's indifference.

Chokin, for his part, remained silent and simply held his other hand up. Then, with a flick of the wrist a small orb of light twinkling like a star hovered atop his palm. The Avatars' face was one of confusion, and their voice became so much calmer.

 **"It didn't work? But we saw,"** they asked, confused.

"I simply couldn't hold it any longer," Chokin explained, "and Amon's technique works by twisting the body."

"And energybending is an extension on one's self, not one's body," the Avatars finished. Chokin nodded, then his face softened. A silence simmered as the anger died. The two faces softened between the two as they simply looked at each other.

 **"Will you stay? After you know?"** they asked.

"I don't know," answered Chokin, honestly. A beat passed. A true smile grew on his face "But I hope so."

 **"We missed you so much,"** they said, throwing themselves into an embrace, a loving smile on their face.

"I missed you too, all of you," said Chokin, a similar smile on his face, and a few tears streaming across him. "Well maybe I was a bit glad to be rid of some of you," he teased.

They gave a watery chuckle, sinking into the embrace then they said with a teasing smile, **"Raava missed you too."**

That made Chokin's eyes widen, and his skin flush dark blue. For a moment they simply melted into one another until-

"Chokin what's going on?"

Korra had returned, and as such appeared very confused as to how she found herself wrapped in Chokin's arms.

Chokin didn't jump or flush, he simply removed them, "Avatar state almost killed someone, I had to stop it."

"GUYS!" shouted Bolin, rushing up to the box, "the scary police lady told me to get you lot. She said she wanted waterbenders to help the injured."

The three exchanged nervous glances. There must be a lot of injured people if they didn't have enough healers.

 **A/N: So that turned out to be the longest chapter I ever wrote, there was just a lot I needed to write in this chapter that didn't seem right to simply cut it off.**

 **If you're wondering why I wrote about Chokin hijacking the commentary then let me offer an explanation. Originally I was going to have him change the outcome but then realised it would be hard to transition into the Equalist attack, so instead Chokin just thought about the idea and decided to experiment to see if he could. Turns out you can't.**

 **Also anyone else thought Chokin was cool being able to give the Avatar state the parent look. He'd raised Avatar's before and being so close he wouldn't have been very good at it if he was afraid of the Avatar state. Just something I thought was cool**

 **Please feel free to follow or favourite. But more than anything I would love it if you could find the time to review as they really motivate me to keep writing. And feel free to leave a suggestion and I'll certainly consider it.**


	24. Sleepover

**Sleepover**

 **A/N: I wasn't able to find a good time to put this in, but between the last chapter and this one while the rest of Team Avatar were sleeping, Chokin found out about the Police investigation of cabbage corp, and figured they were framed.**

 **Korra**

"And we are now receiving reports about the total casualties from last night's tragedy. Approximately one hundred and thirty seven people were killed in the bending arena, with over three hundred injured. Amon has been reported to have escaped des-" the radio suddenly cut off.

"Hate that channel!" explained Chokin as he packed up another box of belongings.

They were in the attic of the pro-bending arena, with boxes all over the place. With the arena being closed, it meant that Mako and Bolin were evicted, and therefore the five of them had come back to help them pack.

A sick subdued feeling was hanging over the air, a silence in the wake of the tragedy. The weight of their failure hung deeply in the air.

"Still can't believe they're shutting this place down," said Bolin, a sad look on his face. He'd been depressed all day, and had only half-heartedly been able to bring himself to pack. Mako meanwhile seemed used to it, and maintained a stiff upper lip.

"I mean where are we supposed to stay?" mumbled Bolin, scared.

"You're not going back on the street," said Korra firmly, but Bolin still didn't appear to be sure.

"You've got too many friends and options for us to let that happen," pointed out Chokin.

"Yeah you can just move into my house. We've got plenty of room," suggested Asami.

Bolin looked like he was about to start sobbing hysterically with tears of joy, but Mako looked sceptical.

"Your father won't mind?" asked Mako skeptically.

"Oh he will, but it's far easier to ask for forgiveness than permission," she said. The three of them laughed, but the others were unsure.

"Are you sure?" sniffed Bolin, tears in his eyes.

"If not, then you'll be welcome on Air Temple Island, but you probably should go with the place that has meat, beds and a car," suggested Korra.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" squealed Bolin, bringing both Asami and Korra into a massive bear hug.

"Hey why doesn't Chokin get a hug?" puffed Korra.

"Because I won't survive and am getting out of here," said Chokin climbing out of the window.

"Where are you going?" asked Mako, in the middle of lifting one the boxes of their things.

"Oh I'm going to pack some things for me and Korra for the sleepover," he explained, about to jump from a sixty meter height.

"What sleepover?" asked Korra, pretty sure that Chokin had never told her about this.

"I thought it'd be a great idea for us to have a sleepover to help Mako and Bolin move in," he shouted, getting quite close to the edge.

"I don't remember agreeing to that," shouted Asami, a bit annoyed.

"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission," shouted Chokin. He jumped the full sixty feet, only for a pulse of light to burst out his arms, leaping him towards air temple island.

 **Tenzin**

He was following noises originating from Korra's room. There were sounds of shuffling and banging in her room by the spirits.

Slamming the door open he was ready to give Korra a piece of his mind.

"KORRA THERE BETTER NOT BE-"he shouted, only to realise that Korra was not actually in the room. Only a certain blue skinned spirit was bent over, throwing pieces of clothing onto the bed from the dressers.

"No boy in here, but knowing what her past lives got up to I can't blame you for jumping to conclusions," said Chokin, not getting up from the dresser.

Tenzin decided to ignore that last disturbing statement and move on to more pressing concerns, "Then may I ask you what you are doing here?"

"I'm just gathering things for Korra's sleepover," explained Chokin, "with her friends and me, so don't worry. It's at Ms Sato's house."

"Now? Now is hardly the time. Just after the attack at the bending arena, it's not the right time," he said, angry at Chokin for his lack of appreciation of the situation.

"Why isn't it?" he asked, picking up a collection of clothing and placing it on the bed.

"Where do I start? Firstly, it's not safe. The Equalists will certainly be after her. Secondly, I want to be there for her, I can only imagine how she feels after that attack. Thirdly, she's falling behind on her airbending," he said.

Chokin was simply nodding in acknowledgement, "All true, but this is exactly why I thought this would be a good idea."

Tenzin sighed, a sign for anyone who knew him that he was losing patience with this spirit, "Would you care to explain?"

Chokin placed his elbows on the bed, resting his chin on his hands with a smile on his face "Of course, I love explaining my reasoning. Well firstly I believe that if the Equalists were to try and attack Korra, this would be the first place they'd look. If Korra wasn't here, she'd have forewarning that the Equalists were after her, then the two of us would fight them off."

"I know you're capable but-"

"Tenzin I fought a lion Turtle and won," smiled Chokin arrogantly. Tenzin couldn't respond to that.

"Now you're worried that you won't be there for Korra given how she must be feeling in regards to this disaster, but if she stayed here you would be able to be there. But so will Tarlock and the press, and they've never been particularly sensitive in my experience," continued Chokin. That was an annoyingly good point, he could imagine that Tarlock was headed over here right now to badger Korra into whatever absurd scheme he had.

Which left only his weakest point remaining, "But her airbending training is really behind."

"Not to worry, I am a certified airbender teacher," said Chokin brightly, now stuffing the unfolded clothes into the suitcase, "I've had to help many an Avatar work through their bending blocks, Korra is hardly the first. I've even prepared an exercise for just an occasion," dismissed Chokin.

"There's no way to convince you is there?" lamented Tenzin, to which Chokin simply shook his head. "Just no funny business, under no circumstances."

Slamming down the suitcase, Chokin was prepared to go, "Oh I wish she would. Otherwise she'll inevitably pester me about how to come true to her feelings to whatever crush she finds."

Chokin was still shuddering as he jumped out the window, with balls of light rippling off the ground.

 **Bolin**

"Yep it's official I'm dead," was Bolin's only response. After all, it was the only explanation, there was no feasible way that he could legitimacy in this house. Being allowed to stand in this majestic room was impossible, never mind living here.

He was frozen in awe of the majestic palace that he found himself living in. The floors were made of pure marble, with fountains of water reaching along the sides of the lobby, intertwined with green shrubbery in ceramic, patterned flower pots. The walls were laced in beautifully designed patterned wallpaper. It was a sight to behold.

"I hope not or else I'd be too," said Korra, her mouth wide open, "Asami this is where you live? Why am I stuck on Air Temple Island?"

Asami seemed embarrassed, "Trust me it gets old, I mean in the entire house there are only about three rooms I actually use. The rest is mostly a waste of space."

"A waste of space?" whimpered Bolin. That was absurd, how could there ever be such a thing as a waste of space? He and Mako had always been needing more space in their cramped apartments. How could there be a world in which you had too much?

"Anyway, Bolin your room is upstairs the second room on the left, Mako you get the room next to him," she said, pointing up the stairs. By the spirits?

"Our own room?" he trembled, shaking with fear. He'd never slept anywhere Mako couldn't keep an eye on him. He was scared of the dark, and who else would be able to produce a night flame?

"Relax Bolin, I'll be just next door if you need anything," comforted Mako, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. Still shaking, Bolin started walk up the stairs to his room when Asami showed him the room he'd be staying in.

"Wow it's really, really lonely," he muttered. Not that it wasn't good, in fact he'd wager it was the best living standards he'd ever experienced With an actual bed, wardrobe and desk, it was everything he could ever want.

The problem was that though the bed was perfect, comfortable, and more than simply a camp bed, there was only one.

"Is something wrong?" asked Asami, "Do you want me to get anything for it?"

"It's just I've never had my own room before," said Bolin, "it's kinda… you know?"

Everyone shook their heads, except for Chokin.

"Don't worry Bolin I thought this might happen," he said, "that's why I bought this on the way over here."

Chokin held up a large, puffy Fire Ferret soft toy, approximately the size of his Torso. "Pabu 2.0 will be the perfect friend."

"Aww thanks," he said, taking it to his chest. Then he paused, "Wait when did you get here, Chokin?"

"Oh I snuck in through the window. Always training those stealth skills," he dismissed, throwing Korra a bag of stuff.

"You actually packed this stuff huh? You're serious about this sleepover?" she said to him, grabbing the bag.

"Sleepover? What sleepover is this, Asami?" asked Hiroshi, who had appeared from nowhere.

"Don't kill us Mr Sato please," whimpered Bolin, jumping onto his knees and pleading with Asami's father. He seemed genuinely bemused by his action and just glared at Asami instead. Feeling rejected, Bolin got off his knees and looked at Asami pleadingly.

Asami for her part, had stuck out her bottom lip, and rounded her eyes.

"I'm sorry Dad, but I couldn't help it. My friends lost their homes in the bending arena, so I offered them to stay here. Pleeease, they've got nowhere else to go otherwise," she pouted, tears appearing on the rims of her eyes.

Hiroshi's eyes began to break before he finally relented, "Fine, I guess but they'd better know how to behave."

"Of course Dad," said Asami smiling, pulling her father into an embrace. Bolin felt a pang of longing at the gesture, for he couldn't remember his own parents that well. He couldn't help but feel a slight bit of jealousy, though he showed none of this.

Instead, he simply shifted himself to some corner to watch in silence. Noticing that Chokin had again disappeared again, Bolin considered looking for him but instead decided to silently look out the window.

"Well you kids should get settled in, I guess… make sure they obey all the rules, Asami," he said sternly looking at Mako with the slightest tone of disgust in his voice. He then shot a glare at Korra and Bolin in turn. He felt his shoulders move inwards before Mr Sato simply walked off.

"Erm Asami, I think you're Dad hates us," Bolin pouted, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Don't worry he'll grow on you, he's not very comfortable with strangers," she said, but seemed to be slightly uncomfortable.

"In any case anyone got anythinnnnn," Korra trailed off, her eyes becoming as wide as saucers as she peered out of the window. Bolin followed her line of sight to the race track outside. Korra was practically drooling at the track.

"Is that-" she muttered.

"That's where Future Industries tests out it's new race cars," explained Asami "Do you want a ride?"

"OF COURSE!" she all but squealed. Then getting her excitement under control, she coughed and said almost formally, "that would be great, Ms Sat- Asami."

"Of course, Avatar Korra, it would be spiffing to do such a thing," mimicked Asami before bursting out laughing and running onto the track.

"Hey wait for us," squeaked Bolin, attempting to catch up.

By the time Chokin, Bolin and Mako had found their way to the race track (for Asami and Korra had sped off to the track without them) the two girls were already in the car. They had a look of impatience on their faces, as if expecting them to be ready for a car race.

"Erm do either of you know how to drive?" asked Bolin, to Mako and Chokin. Mako shook his head while Chokin shrugged.

"Is it anything like riding an ostrich-horse?" asked Chokinl.

"No."

"Then I'll be great at it," he said, jumping into the seat. Then his smile dropped as looked at the various controls, "errm."

Not long after that, Korra and Asami went whizzing throughout the track and the three of them attempted to figure out how the car worked.

"I think… the key. Yeah I see this in the comics, you need to open the back and put two wires together," suggested Bolin, as clueless and the spirit.

"I don't think tha-" started Mako, but he was too late as Chokin already pulled the back of the casing open. Leading hundreds of wires to fall out, and Chokin to start linking them together one at a time.

"WHOOSH!" Korra and Asami had rushed passed them after completing their first lap. Korra and Asami were screaming in enthusiasm.

"You know what?" said Chokin leaping out the car and kicking it, "It's broken, clearly not my fault."

"What do we do now?" asked Mako, gruffly sitting down on the grass.

"Let's play twenty questions," suggested Bolin.

"How do we play?" asked Chokin.

"I ask a question, then you ask another until we reach twenty," explained Bolin

"Okay you ask me something first," suggested Chokin.

"Who do you have a crush on?" he asked curiously.

"That's your question?" asked Chokin indignantly.

"Yep," he responded.

"But you already know that," he responded.

"Yeah but I want to hear why you like her," moaned Bolin.

"That wasn't your question at all," moaned Chokin.

"You still got to answer it," said Bolin.

"I don't know, it kinda just happened," said Chokin, his arms thrown up into the air.

"What do you mean it just kinda happened?" asked Bolin.

"Hey I thought I got to ask you a question now?" pointed out Chokin.

"Oh right… ask away," Bolin relented.

"Who do you have a crush on?" asked Chokin.

"That's original," muttered Mako.

"You know I had a thing for Korra," he muttered sheepishly.

"Nope," said Chokin deadpan.

"What?"

"No you don't. It's a phase," said Chokin, his tone strict and decisive.

"What makes you so sure?" he moaned.

"Ten thousand years of experience. Do you know that the Avatars would always seek me for advice on their relationships more than anything? Every time I wanted to talk about the fate of the world, the conversation would somehow get derailed into this nonsense. I was forced to become an expert on the matter, and I know you two won't work. Furthermore, the only way I could ever get them to shut up was to find the right one for them and I don't want to go through this again!" Chokin exploded, ranting more to himself than Bolin. His voice radiating with frustration, though it seemed Chokin was intentionally exaggerating it.

Bolin decided to switch the subject. "Hey, I need the toilet, do any of you remember where it was?"

"Err," suggested Mako.

"Let's go exploring!" shouted Chokin, punching his arms into the air and leading the way back to the mansion.

 **Korra**

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Korra screamed jumping off the Satomobile, "Where did you learn to drive like that?"

"Oh, well I always tested out the cars I fixed on the track… and I guess I got carried away when going around the tracks," she said sheepishly. Korra simply grinned in response, all her life she had been described as wild or too rash. She'd never met anyone who'd understood that wild side, besides maybe Chokin to a lesser extent. But Asami was different. She hadn't noticed before, assuming, as many had, that she was just a prim and proper girl.

"Hey where did the guys go?" asked Asami. Looking around, she saw that they had abandoned the car that Chokin and the others were supposed to be driving.

"Must have gone back to your house," suggested Korra, as they made their way back to the mansion.

As they arrived at the mansion, they weren't in the foyer, so immediately Korra started to look into every room, carelessly hoping to find them.

"Wait don't go in there!" Asami suddenly warned, but Korra had already barged in.

There was nothing embarrassing or incriminating in the room. It was simply filled with rough sketches of ideas, half tinkered gizmos, and stuff that was ultimately very harmless.

"What's all this?" she asked, a small tone of amusement in her voice from Asami's panic.

"It's nothing," she groaned, her face red from embarrassment, "it's just stupid stuff I used to tinker with. I had dreams of being some kind of great inventor… but the ideas I came up with… ugh."

"Why what's wrong with them? They look great," she remarked, it was mostly true. She was impressed, though she had no idea what any of it did.

"No, no they're not," she dismissed, pulling Korra out of the room. There was a silence as they searched the house. Unfortunately, the house was rather big, which made it difficult to find anyone inside the building.

Korra was confused by Asami's apparent humiliation at the inventions. She was watching her carefully, eventually deciding to bring up the room, "Asami, I really did mean what I said about your ideas."

"No Korra, you don't need to pretend for my shake. Everyone does that. Don't pretend alright?" she replied, stunning Korra into silence. She couldn't help but wonder why Asami felt that she was just pretending for Asami's shake. Before she could continue, Asami had fast walked somewhere and Korra had lost track.

Choosing a door at random to check, she eventually opened a crack to what she saw was Hiroshi's office. She was about to leave until she heard an interesting titbit.

"Yeah, that spirit saw right through the cabbage corp frame job. Unfortunate, but we still have time to strike."

 **A/N: Asami's self esteem issues in this story is where I push the everything in the story must be theoretically canon the most. But I think it's still very possible but she was keeping it a secret the whole time. Or she stops caring after finding out about Hiroshi's betray and none of her friends realised before that. This actually refers to a self esteem issue that's becoming more prevalent especially among millennials. When parents give their children participation awards and the 'everyone's a winner' they actually put into doubt how reliable their parents and others positive feedback can be, and start to doubt their credibility. Thought it would be a good issue to bring up**


	25. Investigation

**Investigation**

 **Several Weeks Earlier- Kosu**

It had only been the third night since the Paladin and Korra had arrived in Republic city. The moon was full, and the skies cloudless. The wind was still and the grounds quiet. Only White Lotus sentries with a night shift like her were pacing around to keep the Avatar safe.

In the cool air, though, she noticed one thing out of place. It was the Paladin off by the shoreline, skimming stones into the bay one at a time. He seemed almost lonely, so she decided to walk towards him.

"Aren't you tired?" she asked kindly to the spirit, offering him her cup of tea.

"Tired? Sleep doesn't exactly work the same way for freaks like me," he said, turning towards her. A gentle smile on his face, pushing the proposed tea back.

"Then how does it work?" she asked.

"It's a choice, like fun is for humans. A freak won't simply drop asleep, but it sure does help," he said, a sense of strain in his voice.

"How long was it since you slept?" she asked, ignoring the use of the word 'freak'.

"Four thousand years," he replied, there was almost a sense of pride in the voice. But she remained silent. She knew exactly what that meant. He hadn't slept since the Diyu, and to be fair, who could possibly want to sleep and enduring the nightmares that had formed in that conflict?

That brought another question, one she knew she probably shouldn't ask, but her curiosity got the better of her, "What was it like? To fight in the Diyu I mean."

The Paladin's arms shot a quick flash of purple, but it quickly rescinded, "That's not a safe topic to discuss."

She backed away but the Paladin smiled, "There was actually a matter I wished to ask your opinion on."

"Okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Those floating, airships I believe they're called, who invented those?" he asked, a bright scientific curiosity plastered on his face.

"I believe that's a Sato model. They're designed by future industries. I imagine it was the CEO, Hiroshi, who invented them," she explained, "I think if you squint you can even see their mansion over there," she said, pointing towards the outskirts of Republic city.

"He might be awake," the Paladin said, and suddenly there was a dim flash of silver-grey light and the Paladin disappeared.

 **Present Day- Korra**

She had snuck out of the Sato's house, telling the butler some nonsense about babysitting for Tenzin, and had rushed to the nearest phone box. She had immediately contacted Tenzin, and he had contacted Lin. They now were talking about Hiroshi, in the nearby district.

"I heard him, he was annoyed that Chokin-" she started, only for Lin to start grumbling. She had not appreciated that Chokin had undermined her, "-had defended Cabbage corp, but he still intends to continue as planned."

"So that freak was right after all," grumbled Lin.

"Korra are you absolutely sure that's what you heard?" asked Tenzin.

"I'm sure… if I recall he seemed somewhat disturbed that Asami had had Bolin and Mako stay at the house as well. I didn't think of it then but-" she continued.

"You think he's been harbouring some anti-bending sentiment all this time. It's possible, after all he has a motive," said Lin, scratching her cheek in thought.

"That's right," said Tenzin.

"He does?" Korra asked.

"Several years ago firebenders broke into the Sato mansion. Hiroshi's wife was inside and was fatally injured. Three weeks later she died of her injuries," explained Tenzin.

"I… I never knew" replied Korra. A lump developed in her throat at her own misinformation, and Asami's apparent low self-esteem. Now that her father could be an Equalist, she suddenly was getting cold feet. In her head she whispered, "I'm sorry Asami, but I have to do this."

"It's possible he's been hiding anti-bending sentiment all this time," pondered Lin, "maybe we should investigate Mr Sato."

 **Asami**

Asami had found Chokin, Bolin and Mako but had now lost track of Korra. It had been an hour since they separated. Chokin had insisted, though, that it was okay, and instead challenged Asami to a game of elemental battle. The game was like rock, paper, scissors but instead used the four elements. Unfortunately, Chokin had skewered the game somewhat.

"Fire."

"Energy."

"I win."

"Earth."

"Energy."

"I win."

"Water."

"Energy."

"I win."

"Air."

"Energy."

"Let me guess you win?" predicted Asami, to which Chokin just nodded, having won several consecutive games.

"Shouldn't energy be defeated by at least one other element?" asked Bolin, seeing the obvious unfair disadvantage of the game.

"Can any other element destroy an entire city, with a single thought?" said Chokin.

"Okay how about we remove energy from the game?" Asami suggested, Chokin pouted but nodded. They started to shake their fists when suddenly the door burst open. The chief of police, Korra, Tenzin and a dozen police officers surged into the room causing Bolin to put his hands up.

"I imagine you have a reason for this search," groaned Chokin, "Hiroshi's in his office."

Tenzin, the Chief and the police officers rushed out the room, but Asami grabbed Korra before she could do so.

"Korra what's going on here?" she asked, angry at the home invasion.

For a single second a deep look of dread flashed across her face, until she tried, relatively successfully, to appear serious, "Asami I- I heard… your Dad on the phone," then she sighed, "and I think he might be an equalist."

Asami didn't shout or get angry, but the news sunk into her like a brick. Remembering that Amon had said that her father was once an equalist, and that was why Professor Jiaoshou was killed. Had Dad cowered and returned to Amon? Or had he simply returned for the sake of their sick cause?

Bolin and Mako reacted with angered shock, and outraged outbursts, instantly attempting to defend her father. Asami couldn't join in, her voice had ceased working and her fingers gone numb.

Chokin reacted differently, his face ceased the goofy childish look, and became a lot calmer. He got up from the floor that he had been sitting on, and relaxed into the armchair, when he spoke it was with an exceptionally calm voice, that seemed to soothe everyone in the room.

"Korra can I speak to you privately? You three can either wait for me to finish outside or talk with the police. They'll explain why Mr. Sato is having his house searched. And Asami," she turned to face him in the doorway, "regardless of what the truth is, it's okay to take that however you like. I know that feel things you think that you shouldn't feel but that's alright."

With the passing silence, Asami left the room. Her hands held her arms as she felt all the warmth pass away to be replaced with doubt, fear and uncertainty.

 **Korra**

The door shut and the room became truly private. Barring herself and Chokin, the room contained no one. The atmosphere made Korra squirm as Chokin rested his head in his hands. Soon the atmosphere became unbearable, and she was overwhelmed with an urgent desire to confess.

"Chokin I'm sorry, but I heard Hiroshi over the phone talking about some sort of strike, how, 'You had made things difficult by claiming that cabbage corp was framed.' He's also been really angry about Asami having us for a sleepover, and all of us are benders. Plus he has a motive. Did you know his wife was killed by firebenders, So he probably wants revenge and-" she tried to explain but Chokin held up a hand.

"Korra, it is very possible that Hiroshi is an Equalist. What you've found is more than enough grounds for an investigation," he said, causing her to release a breath she didn't know she held. At least one of her friends trusted her, and sided with her.

"But. The evidence is circumstantial, this could all be a misunderstanding," said Chokin, a shot of anger strained through her.

"I know what I heard," she defended indignantly.

"You heard him preparing to strike and be angry that Cabbage Corp wasn't closed. If I was a businessman, I'd be disappointed if I was led to believe my biggest competitor may close but didn't. It's also possible that the 'strike' didn't refer to any kind of attack at all-"he explained patiently.

"Oh come on," she retaliated but Chokin held up a hand.

"Different jobs have different cultures, and when different cultures interact, misunderstandings occur. Korra are you a businesswoman?" he asked.

"No but-"

"Then you cannot be sure. As for him being uncomfortable around you three. One, we turned up unannounced, and two, his wife was attacked in her home. Protectiveness is natural," he continued, making it difficult to respond with his calm tone.

"But he has a motive," she protested.

"That's not enough to convict him," continued Chokin. Before Korra could protest, he continued, "You're right to investigate him, and the police are right to search this house. But you need to consider something,"

"What?" Korra demanded.

"What will convince you he's innocent?" asked Chokin.

"He's no-" she started.

"Innocent till proven guilty. It's easy to preach but not easy to practice. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt until evidence shows otherwise, but you also have to know when to stop and accept he's innocent," he continued.

"When I see proof,"

"It's easy to find proof that someone did do something, but if something did not happen it doesn't produce proof. You may have to accept you're wrong with no conclusive proof. When digging for gold, you should always ensure you don't dig deeper than you can climb," continued Chokin, then started to scratch his chin, "Was that a good metaphor? Or is it a proverb?"

"No it was good," she said, not really focused. But something Chokin said had stuck with her, and she began reflecting. She had been so focused on the fact that Mr. Sato could be an equalist, that she hadn't really concerned herself with the alternative.

"No, it was terrible, yet I get it," she answered, deep in thought, "If I don't have any leads after we search him, I guess he's innocent."

"Good job," smiled Chokin, "now onto an arguably more positive note, regarding Asami.

"Uggh," she moaned, afraid of this topic, "I know what you're going to say."

"That what you did in regards to informing the police about her father was completely justified, noble and selfless?" said Chokin brightly.

Korra had opened her mouth to retort but Chokin's response had caught her off-guard "Huh?"

"There is nothing noble about making exceptions in your principles simply because that person is a relation of your friend," said Chokin, "As the Avatar, you must be as blind as justice in your judgement anything less would be selfish."

"That's a funny way of putting it," she said, though a tinge of relief still spread through her heart. At least one of her friends understood.

"There are millions of friendships all over the world, Korra. People shouldn't compromise those principles out of peer pressure because no friendship can be worth that," explained Chokin, "It's a key step in energybending. Nothing but the reality that your principles were wrong should allow you to compromise them. That's is the cost of power."

"But I remember Master Katara telling me that Aang would never put anyone else above his friends," she said. Katara had said that was one of the things she most loved about Aang.

"Which is why he was a terrible Avatar," was Chokin's answer, "Now I want to help with this search, you might to talk to your future girlfriend about this."

"Why do keep saying this?" she asked, utterly confused.

"Because one day it will be true, and I have no intention of getting bogged down with you pestering me about it," he moaned while walking out. Korra was left pacing around the room for a few seconds before she heard Lin shout from outside.

"WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Looking outside the room, she could see that Chokin had simply crossed the police line when the Chief had exploded at him. Chokin did not stop walking and simply answered, "Looking for Ms. Sato, also investigating."

"Ms. Sato is in her room, and you can't cross a police line without authorisation!" she chastised. "If you think I'll let you just go ahead and investigate willy nilly then you have another thing coming."

Chokin shrugged, his form becoming silver as he floated just a few inches off the floor.

"Go ahead and try," challenged Chokin, his voice like it was similarly being projected normally yet also echoing. The threat seemed to have intimidated Lin enough that she backed down. Korra, though, was uninterested and decided to head to find Asami

 **Asami**

Asami was pacing in her room. Forbidden from taking part in the investigation, she had left to her room to deal with her thoughts. On the one hand, she was desperate. Desperate that this was all some sort of misunderstanding, desperate that she could love her father and not have to worry about him being an equalist. On the other hand, it would be simple, with what what Amon said, and what Korra heard… it just made too much sense.

There was a knock at the door. Asami ignored it, hoping to be alone, but then the person knocked louder and Asami couldn't ignore it.

"Come in," she said the door opened. "Korra" Asami said.

Korra flinched, Asami suddenly realised how much bite was in her tone, "Sorry."

"No it's ok," she said. A silence erupted in the air, and Asami just wanted her to leave, which was confusing since she'd wanted company before Korra entered.

"Asami, I'm sorry for this whole mess," Korra said tentatively, Asami stayed quiet, "I hope you know I don't want to do this."

Asami was simply letting the words sink in, not responding to her. She knew Korra probably thought she blamed her, and if she was truthful a small part of her did. But she knew in her head that Korra was doing what she had to. She still hated her for it though… No, hate was too strong a word. Anger would be better.

"Asami, I think… hope this is all a misunderstanding, but we have to be sure. You know?" said Korra

"But Korra I don't know if he is," confessed Asami finally.

"Huh?"

"I keep thinking about how he's been distant for a while now, and how he's also been working at his workshop all night. I didn't think of it at the time but now I… I don't know Korra," she whispered, "and…and," she hesitated wondering whether she should reveal what Amon said.

"And?" she prompted.

"Nothing," she lied.

"Asami I don't know what to say," she seemed genuinely sorry, "I... I-"

There was a knock at the door, and the Chief barged in without an invitation. "Well we've searched the house: all the factories, the gym, the attic, all the rooms. There doesn't appear to be anything linking him to the Equalists, as far as we can tell."

The news didn't bring a feeling of relief or joy, but one of greater uncertainty, "Are you sure? Did you check everywhere?"

"Yes we did," the Chief said bluntly

"Everywhere? Even the attic? The cellar? Both of the workshops? You're positive you checked them all?" she demanded anxiously, her thumbs twiddling.

"There are two workshops?" the Chief asked. So they didn't check that place, the news brought fresh anxiety to her churning stomach.

"His is on the edge of the gardens, if you didn't know I suppose you wouldn't notice it," as she explained, more and more uneasiness grew inside her. He had been spending so much more time there, and didn't want Asami inside. She had assumed he just wanted privacy, but what if he was keeping secrets from her?

"Well exactly where is this workplace?" asked Korra, Asami just gestured for them to follow her as she got up and led them to the workshop. Though she wasn't really paying attention to leading them, her thoughts again warped themselves into a ball of nerves as her mind ran through every nightmarish possibility that could happen. It therefore came as a shock when she had arrived at the place.

"H-Here we are," she said, leading the group inside. When they entered, nothing stuck out, no Amon banners, no evil inventions, nothing, just an empty workshop. Asami let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"There doesn't appear to be anything here," remarked Korra, somewhat lamely. But Lin seemed to be cynical.

"Maybe we just can't see it," Lin suggested pulling back her leg and sliding the metal from her foot, before slamming it into the ground "There's a secret passage here,"

Immediately Asami's stomach sank, as her worst fears seemed to be confirmed. Before she could dwell on her thoughts, a familiar voice coming from under the floorboards broke her train of thought.

"OW Stupid hatch! Where's the latch gone again, I can't see anything," came the familiar voice of a certain spirit. After a few seconds of grumbling she eventually heard, "Never mind, let's do this the easy way."

Suddenly a thin stream of light burst out the grounds, like a welding torch, that roughly cut out a somewhat circle shape. After which Chokin, in his silver form floated out of before returning to normal. He then proceeded to kick the hole, only for him to hop on one leg. "What's the point of having a secret passageway to a secret warehouse if you're not going anything interesting in it?" he groaned and kicked the exact same spot, resulting in the exact same result. He hopped on one foot again, having apparently not learned his lesson.

"What?" Asami whispered meekly, not daring to hope. Chokin turned to the three of them surprised.

"Oh you lot arrived, how's the search going?" he asked innocently.

"We were just checking this workshop, it's only place left," explained Korra.

"Well I've already searched and there's nothing here," he said, "You can check if you want, but I don't think you'll find anything."

The Chief of course did not take Chokin at his word, and proceeded to jump down the hole in a combative stance. Chokin, however, merely shrugged and started to pace, muttering to himself with his head slanted upwards.

"Check. Check. Yeah we got that. Could he? No of course not. Conspiracy? No that's too far…am I? Yeah I am. No evidence," Chokin muttered abstractly to himself, apparently not paying any attention to the world around him. Then, he suddenly halted.

"I'm really sorry Asami, but I think we a horrible mistake with your father," Chokin said, bowing in a form of apology.

"Wait you mean?" Korra asked.

"I have done this for six thousand years, I know when to accept when I was wrong Korra. We've searched everywhere, and short of imagining a massive underground conspiracy that would cost millions I don't see how he could have covered this up any further," explained Chokin, "I think it was probably a misunderstanding."

Asami couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all this confusion, uncertainty and fear, Chokin was just letting go. After all that?

"But I don't, I-I I don't get it Chokin," whimpered Asami.

"It is kinda disappointing, I know. But sometimes it is as simple as a mere misunderstanding," explained Chokin, "Remember what we talked about."

Korra seemed to struggling with the idea but eventually decided to ask, "Are you sure?"

"No one can be sure. We simply must be satisfied in the knowledge that, even were there to be another criminal on the streets, it would be a greater injustice to have an innocent in jail. Any other mentality will lead to greater suffering," explained Chokin.

Korra was silent before finally turning to Asami, "I'm sorry Asami.. I- I don't know what to say."

"No Korra I understand. You just… just did what you thought was right. I probably would've done the same," she relented.

"So friends?" Korra said, holding up a hand. Asami smiled weakly as she shook it.

"Now become more than friends," suggested Chokin.

"WHAT?" she shrieked, shocked. Korra meanwhile just groaned.

"He has this dumb idea that we're going to end up together," explained Korra with a roll of eyes.

"Well for goodness sake PLEASE do NOT come crying to me when you figure it out, now if you excuse me I have apologise to Mr Sato," begged Chokin, before practically skipping out the door

 **Several Weeks Earlier- Hiroshi**

"Amon, I assure you I can help," Hiroshi offered. It was the dead of night, and Asami was asleep while he remained seated in his office. In one hand he held a frame of his beloved Yasuko, and in the other he held a phone to Amon, a man who would destroy those who had taken everything from him and make a greater, more perfect world for him.

"I know, and know that you have nothing to fear. I have been given a sign by a spirit that our goal is a certain one," came Amon's voice, a small sense of pride in the malice.

"A spirit gave you a sign? What was it?" asked Hiroshi.

"I'm sorry Mr Sato but I have to go, this isn't the most private place. For the Revolution," said Amon.

Disappointed he repeated, "For the Revolution," as he heard the buzzing of the dead phone.

"For the Revolution," said another voice, causing his blood to freeze as he looked up to see a spirit. He was blue but with black patterns, and a certain curious look on his voice, with scared eyes masked by the twinkle of wisdom and enthusiasm.

Hiroshi thought about running, but a thought entered his mind: a spirit had given Amon a sign. Was it this one? "Was it you? You were the spirit that appeared to Amon?"

A flicker of surprise and offense split across the spirit's face for a second. Before he answered, "Yes."

"You are." Hiroshi sighed in relief, "You're here to aid in the revolution and fix the world of the damage caused by benders?"

The spirit rolled his eyes and looked at Hiroshi with an incredulous look before answering, "I'm certainly here to fix it."

"So why have you come here? You could be seen. And if they search the house they'll find the passage in the workshop," he whispered, paranoia overtaking him.

"Relax, it's the dead of night and I know how not to be followed," replied the Spirit.

Hiroshi relaxed and calmed, falling back into his seat, "Who are you exactly?"

"I'm a freak or a 'spirit' as you so kindly put it," he said noticeably miffed, "My name is Chokin, the… Lord of Progress."

"I see so you are here because the Equalists are the future," Hiroshi deduced.

"Sure, I just have a few questions," Chokin asked with a genuine sense of curiosity.

"Oh… okay," he shrugged, relaxing into his chair.

"So after the benders have been defeated, what will the world be like?" Chokin asked, taking a seat without permission.

"It'll be… it'll-" he stammered, uncertain on how to answer, until his eyes shifted to the picture of his darling Yasuko, "It'll be a world where non-benders don't have to fear those… those benders. Where they can walk the streets in peace and safety."

"So, in a benderless world, they'll be no crime?" asked Chokin, Hirsohi nodded in response. "So what about the three in five criminals who are non-benders? Why will they stop being criminals?"

"That- that's different," he spluttered for an excuse, "the bending establishment are corrupt and rotten to the core."

"And what measures have you planned in order to prevent that from happening again with the non-bending government?" he asked.

He couldn't answer that question so took the offensive, "This isn't about politics this is about making a world that's safe. For Asami and me," he growled, slamming the table with more force than he expected.

"By killing people and with violence?" asked Chokin shrewdly.

"WHY NOT? IT'S WHAT THEY DID TO ME!" he shouted, filled with anger. He felt he was being judged.

"Because it justifies her death," Chokin answered, in a fit of rage Hiroshi attempted to connect his fist with his jaw but his arm was caught mid swing.

"How dare you!" he spat, "It's nothing alike!"

"Isn't it? she died because they were violent, and now you respond with violence," probed the spirit.

Tears were forming at his eyes, "She was innocent."

"And you're going to take every precaution to ensure no innocent benders are harmed?" asked Chokin with a coy smile.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHAT IT'S LIKE!" he screamed, thankful that Asami was on the other side of the house and out of earshot. "WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE YOU LOVE DIE BECAUSE OF SOME-"

"OF COURSE I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!" screamed Chokin, a pain greater than Hiroshi had ever heard rippled in his voice. "I've lost hundreds of people I cared about over countless lifetimes. To so many terrible things. Accidents, disease, war, age and yes even murder… I know what it's like to feel that death, to see the world only in what they could've enjoyed had they lived. To want to ensure that there's nothing in this world that could endanger those left. But even if you and your daughter were only ones left in this world, they won't be safe."

The words cut deep, a truth struck to them, and the pain in his voice, so similar to that in his vain.

"Then what should I do?" he whispered.

"All you can do is what you've done. Raised your daughter the best you could," Chokin responded.

"You're not actually an Equalist are you? Are you going to tell the police?" he asked.

"No. Being confused and angry is not a crime. We may meet again, but I hope it's under better circumstances," said Chokin as he left the room, leaving Hiroshi to think and reflect.

 **A/N: Boy this chapter took a while, it was very long and very difficult writers block was very troublesome.**

 **Now the theme of this chapter is the idea that misunderstandings do happen in real life, the parts of the chapter in the past were only there to explain the divulgence from the canon timeline, but the reality was I wanted to get across the message that just because the news say someone could be guilty, or someone appears to do something criminal, always be prepared for a misunderstanding. They do happen, and often because both supposed victims or those whom supported them don't want to accept they could have been wrong those suspects are hounded for the rest of their lives. Innocent till proven guilty is an easy thing to preach, but Chokin knows it's harder to be put into practice.**

 **On another note I've decided on an idea that when I finish a book in this series I will introduce a one shot unconnected to the story (the only reason for this is because I want to do one for what Chokin was doing during the canon harmonic convergence). Seeing as Chokin is a character with a lot of possibilities, it could be a what if scenario like if he met Aang or a expansion of his background of something like that. Feel free to provide suggestions**


	26. Escalation

Escalation

Korra

To say that the sleepover was over was an understatement. Hiroshi was so furious about Korra's misunderstanding that he kicked out not only Korra, but Mako and Bolin. Asami had protested, but ultimately he had been very kind letting them stay. Korra had repaid that kindness by accusing him of being a terrorist.

It was clear that, while Asami may have understood somewhat, Mako and Bolin were at best annoyed. Not least of all was how they now dragged their feet onto air temple island, a stark downgrade from the life Korra had sorta gotten them kicked out off.

"It's not that bad," said Korra weakly, pulling their bags for them in a desperate attempt to show them that she had meant well.

"Just not now Korra, I just want to go to bed," said Mako with a hint of resignation.

"Sorry, Mako can come off as a jerk sometimes… well most of the time. But he's a nice guy inside," said Bolin.

"Don't worry I understand," said Chokin solemnly, but then his face became one of a cheeky grin, "Though I won't tell him he's headed to the woman's quarters."

"Oh, then can you show me where they are before I pass out?" asked Bolin rubbing his eyes.

"Follow me. You should get to bed too you two," said Chokin, taking the luggage from her and leaving her to walk to her bed alone with Asami, who had decided to come over to ensure Mako and Bolin slept well.

Tenzin

"Absolutely not, Tarlock, you have gone too far this time. You can't punish all non-benders for the actions of a few," Tenzin put his foot down, but Tarlock just smirked, always infuriatingly charismatic with the council.

"Amon is a threat to all of Republic City; your friend, the Avatar, recognises this. Every measure must be taken to protect the good people of Republic City, and we all know that the Equalists are most active at night. Does it not make sense therefore to establish a curfew to keep the Equalist scum off the street?" he rationalised, "And does it not make further sense that those who associate themselves with terrorists to be deemed just as guilty?"

"Those people deserve free and fair trial under the law just the same as every other citizen in the nation-" pointed out Tenzin.

"They are the enemy, and we have no time to waste in simple bureaucracy. This is war," he said, with deep tone of gravity in his voice, "if you are content to just watch as our city burns then that your business, but I intend to act. In addition to my reforms, I also believe that the police force will require new leadership if we are to adequately eliminate Amon as a threat."

"You intend to replace Lin Beifong?" asked the Earth Kingdom councillor.

"I know it sounds drastic, but hear me out. Despite her past experience, she has consistently remained one step behind Amon at all times. Despite forewarning, she was unable to prevent the attack on the bending arena-"

"Neither did your task force," interrupted Tenzin, angered.

"At her insistence may I remind you, and it was also at her insistence that we conduct high profile searches at both future industries and cabbage corp. Both of which have turned out to be false, and she has proven unable to capture Amon or any or the principle ringleaders of the Equalist movement. Under this knowledge does it not make sense to replace her with someone more competent," asked Tarlock, a smug smile on his face.

"Beifong has done a rem-" Tenzin started but was cut off.

"Tenzin, I know that you had a personal connection to Ms. Beifong once and that she is your friend, but you're letting your emotions control your actions. This does appear to be necessary," said the Fire Nation councillor, a warm smile on her face. Tenzin could feel himself be disarmed.

"All those in favour," demanded Tarlock. Predictably all hands but Tenzin's raised. Patience Tenzin, Patience.

 **Korra**

It was the dead of night when a nightmare awoke Korra from her sleep. They had grown more frequent, having started when she had arrived at Republic City. She hadn't thought that she of all people would be getting homesick, or least of all be getting nightmares about it.

Rubbing her eyes, she proceeded to get a glass of water from the kitchen, walking through the halls. That was when she heard a quiet radio coming from the tallest tower, which was odd. Who'd be awake at this time?

Curiosity peaked, and she climbed the stairs with a flame in her hand for light. Peering through the attic, she saw that Chokin was quietly pouring over some sort of chart, with a large telescope to the side of him. He tapped his feet to some jazz music as he seemed to be writing something on his charts. For a single second his eyes glanced upwards, "Oh hey Korra, what are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep. I had a nightmare and a stomach ache, so I went for water. What are you doing up?" she asked.

"Studying the stars and astronomy. Good to stay ahead of the comet, the eclipses and what not. Especially with certain events coming up, I need to be on top of it," he answered, taking a look through his telescope.

"Events?" she asked.

"Harmonic Convergence, it's the energybenders version of the comet. Plus Raavy and Vaaty will become more powerful, and even the Avatar's free will could be affected," he casually explained.

"Wait what?" asked Korra worried.

"Oh don't worry, Raavy will never do that. Plus I have means to stop her should she try," said Chokin bringing up a ball of energy in his hands.

When Korra still looked worried, Chokin rolled his eyes, "Come on, haven't you spoken to her?"

She shook her head, leading to a confused look from Chokin, "That's strange, she's normally quite talkative, especially regarding embarrassing secrets about a certain energybender," he said with grinded teeth.

Korra was about to respond when suddenly the music on the radio cut off and a police announcer could be heard, "We interrupt this broadcast for an emergency announcement. The West Coast district is now off limits. An Equalist riot has taken place, and the area is now under quarantine. All residents of the district are advised to remain in their homes until further notice."

"What the heck is going on?" asked Korra, rushing to her feet and splashing the sleep out of her eyes with her water.

"I have an inkling. Wake the team up, I need to grab something. Oh, and remind Asami not to forget her glove," said Chokin rushing out of the room with purpose in his steps.

 **Korra 40 minutes later**

"Why are all the lights out?" she asked as they pulled into the quarantined district. It was pitch black, all houses blackened with the only the fog lights of either the Police Blimps or Asami's car headlights.

"Maybe the rioters destroyed the power plant," suggested Mako, looking into the blackened.

"Or maybe everyone's just really tired and went to bed early," suggested Bolin timedly.

"It seems the blimps are concentrated over there; that must be where the equalists are," Korra said, pointing in that direction.

"That's going to make things slightly more complicated," lamented Chokin, his nose buried in a huge stack of papers.

"Errr why?" asked Asami, turning towards the area.

"Huh?" asked Chokin, clearly confused "Oh, I was talking about something else,"

"INTO YOUR HOMES!" echoed a speaker that caused all of the team to cover their ears "THIS IS DISTRICT IS UNDER CURFEW. DISPERSE OR BE ARRESTED."

The response of an unintelligible mess of chants, shouts and demands erupted at the officers. Despite this, there were no shouts of threats, nor was anyone armed in any way or showing any sign of violence.

"Wait I'm confused. I thought these guys were supposed to be armed and dangerous?" asked Bolin, looking between the police and the crowd.

Among the crowd there was the voice of a young girl in her mother's arms pointed at Korra, "Look mommy it's the Avatar!"

A thousand eyes of the crowd tore from the police towards Korra, in all of them a silent demand, plea or beg. She felt expectations rise.

"Help us, you're our Avatar too,"

That was true, and this. This just didn't feel right.

"Tarlock what's going on?" demanded Korra, storming up to him and his task force.

"All non-benders are expected to be in their homes after dark. These people are breaking curfew and the law," spluttered Tarlock.

"You can't treat those people that way. They're not criminals," said Mako, pushing past officers who held him back.

"They are the enemy. Every one of them. They are criminals and will be treated as with all criminals. Chief," he ordered, and the new chief of police gave him a nod.

"Move in, don't give them an inch," ordered the chief. The first line of police officers bent the barriers up and started to bend them around large groups of protesters. Then, the second line of police officers pulled the concrete from under the crowd in mass arrests.

"NO!" shouted Korra pulling the levitated concrete back to the floor.

Tarlock looked livid at her interference, and in retaliation he wrapped a stream of water around Asami's wrist.

"What are you doing?!" demanded Asami.

"You are a non-bender out of your home after curfew, and that is a criminal offense. Take her!" he shouted throwing her to two police officers who wrapped her in metal cuffs.

"ASAMI!" Mako and Bolin shouted simultaneously. They charged the officers with a barrage of earth and fire before quickly being subdued by four separate police officers and thrown into the police van.

"TARLOCK!" she roared, pulling up two concrete boulders from the street and positioning them ready to strike. Every police officer drew a combat position against her as the crowd was stunned into silence.

She could be bluffing, but really she didn't know. She wanted Tarlock to accept what he was doing was insane and to let her friends go, but she didn't know whether she'd attack the police for it.

The air continued to slow as seconds seemed to crawl into minutes in the stand off. Mothers and fathers in the crowd were slowly pulling their children back, as more spotlights from police blimps converged on her. Making every preparation for her should she become violent.

"STOP!" shouted Chokin, who ran between the two, "there's a better way to handle this."

"Let me guess, some sort of weak 'let's talk it all out' nonsense," scoffed Tarlock. His arm pulled out a stream of water in preparation, "People like you only serve to get in my way."

"In your way? What you're doing is as bad as Amon," she shouted in retaliation

"You DARE compare me to that terrorist?" he demanded, "It's people like you that will allow Amon to win!"

Korra couldn't let that statement stand, "You-you are everything that Amon says is wrong with benders yo-"

"There's a better way to handle this Korra," interrupted Chokin.

"But-" she attempted to retort but Chokin silenced her with a glare.

"Tarlock, this is wrong. But I'm not here to debate this here, I'll debate in court," answered Chokin striding up to him.

"Court?" he demanded.

"Yes, ever heard of a concept of Judicial review? It's where the courts decide whether or not you can actually make the laws you have. And I don't think you can make this one," Chokin said, a tinge of savage enjoyment in his voice.

Tarlock however didn't look so frustrated, "If you think you can drag me somewhere and waste my time when I'm busy fighting a threat all of you are too weak to face, then you've got another thing coming."

"But I thought it would be in your best interests. Bloody" Chokin said, the last word spoken like a whisper yet still very audible.

"What?" whimpered Tarlock, backing away. His face sweaty and pale.

"It's a nickname. Like it? I chose it very well" shrugged Chokin, his body language conveying a tone of indifference but his eyes analysing Tarlock's

"How much?" he choked.

"How much do I know? The parts you fear, and even parts you don't know," answered Chokin, his smile almost cocky in nature.

"How?" begged Tarlock.

"Unlike you, who claims to know how your enemy thinks but conveniently forgot to actually study your enemy, I actually did the work," answered Chokin, "So what happens now?"

"Sir?"

"Stand down. We'll-we'll lift this curfew for now, until this trial's over," said Tarlock, his voice losing every ounce of bluster.

"Sir are you-"

"I SAID STAND DOWN!" he shouted desperately. Soon the orders were carried, and those that were arrested were released.

"CHOKIN THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" screamed Bolin pulling him into a bear hug."I was afraid I was going to spend the rest of my live in a prison cell.

"Can you let me go I have a case to prepare," choked Chokin, squeezing his way out.

"So this is great, There's no way the constitution would let something like this happen," said Mako.

"Actually, unlike you, I read the constitution rather than deciding what side it takes. It can actually go either way," Chokin said darkly.

 **A/N Sorry this chapter took so long, I've had a lot of exams that have been eating up my time. Hope this was worth the weight.**


	27. Chapter 27- Trial

**Trial**

Weeks passed until the trial. Everything had returned to a semblance of normal, with no more terrorist attacks being reported, but the fear of Amon hadn't left the people's hearts. Newspapers would consistently talk about how she and Chokin were secretly spies for Amon or traitors to the Republic. Chokin, however, had a unique perspective on the slander.

"Ah, good, we're getting plenty of hate mail," Chokin said with a smile of satisfaction.

"So, wait. You want to be hated?" asked Bolin, squinting at Chokin, confused.

"In this world, the only way to be impartial is to be hated by everyone," Chokin explained, a bright smile on his face, "but that's not really important. What is important is how we're going to get this law overturned."

"There's no way the judges could let this law stand, right?" asked Asami, fierce determination in her voice.

"As I keep reminding you, this case is not about what is morally right, but what is legally allowed," answered Chokin curtly, a reprimand in his voice. "The actual constitution states in the third article that you can't make a law that discriminates based on gender, race, or bending, but if the situation develops into that where a clear threat to the city can be distinguished, a state of emergency can be declared."

"And that means?" Asami prompted.

"That the constitution can be bypassed… but that it can only be done if there's a clear threat. So, today I must convince the judges that Amon should be treated the same as all other criminals. They need to believe he's not a true enemy," explained Chokin, his eyes still glued to his notes.

"Convince a city at war that there's no true threat? That's the only way to stop Tarlock?" asked Korra desperately. Chokin didn't respond. He just shook his head, 'signaling to Korra he really didn't consider the point worth arguing about.

"Well, would you look at the time. We should get there early," said Chokin, picking himself up and walking out of the room. "Do you mind driving us, Asami?"

Chokin, Mako, Bolin and Asami left the room, Chokin striding ahead and leaving the rest to catch up. He left his notes on the table.

"Hey, Chokin, you left-" Korra tried to call, but he'd disappeared. She considered taking the notes to him, until she saw what was written on them. There were a few pages of scruffy notes listing the series of events that was the Equalist uprising. They were not precise enough to be completely accurate to what had happened, but they listed events in broad strokes. A man rallying a terrorist order from discontented groups, people who favoured the status quo responding with brutal force, a major attack that resembled the bending arena attack. The original, vague notes appeared to be written with a quill using a different style, but new names and details had been written in pen. These included details like Amon, Tarlock, the Equalists, and the fact that the war was between non-benders and benders.

What was most striking was the date written in quill at the top left, likely the date Chokin had written this. Several weeks before the revelation where Amon had revealed his power to take people's bending.

"KORRA!" came Bolin's voice, causing her to grab the notes and run out to the boat. She handed them back to Chokin with a hurried excuse, but he shot her a knowing look before taking them out of her hands.

It was an awkward trip to the court, but one that she would forget about upon entering the court room. The trial was taking place in the city council chamber, with the council members being replaced by a handful of old fools. Set out in front were benches filled with the key members of Republic City. Everyone with any stake in Republic City politics was here. The council sat at the front with space for two vacant seats which she assumed was for her and Chokin.

"No matter what, Korra, do not interrupt Tarlock or me. It'll only weaken our case and make us look childish," Chokin explained quietly, "or actually, just don't talk at all."

Before Korra could either refuse or agree to his request, there was the loud banging on the main desk where the city council normally sat. Four new chairs had been drawn up and now nine old men wearing long, dark, black robes entered.

"The trial of Avatar vs the state is now in order. Would the plaintiff like to make its opening statement?" asked the judge in the centre.

Chokin immediately jumped to his feet and started to recite scripture of various laws, all passing over Korra's head as her attention wandered. Thankfully, it only lasted ten minutes – much shorter than his fashion speeches usually lasted – and she managed to catch back on near the end.

"It is the fundamental principle of the United Republic. I believe that all people, regardless of their beliefs or birth, must be accepted. This law fundamentally revokes that principle," explained Chokin. Tarlock was then gestured forward to his recite various laws and meaningless quotes that Korra could hardly keep up with.

"It is certain that there can be no mercy for people like Amon, which means no hesitation. Anything less makes you a traitor," Tarlock all but shouted, "This is war, and maybe my tactics are harsh, but they are necessary. They would do no better for us, so why should we be lenient for them?"

The question wasn't directed at the council but at Chokin, who was looking directly at the man. It occurred to Korra that this wasn't about the law, or the people. It was about Chokin versus Tarlock, and their beliefs about the equalists.

"The answer to that is simple. If you escalate a war, you may as well have fired the first shot."

"Spare me the pretentious nonsense. This is a war I know how to win. I know how Amon thinks, I know why he acts. You keep thinking that you can reason with this man, but you can't. He wants us dead. You can't reason with that."

"Ha! You presume to imagine that you're the one? The one who understands Amon? The one who'll save Republic City? Don't make me laugh, boy," said Chokin, hurling the last word at Tarlock with venom, a dark look in his eye.

"You claim Amon is the ultimate threat? You think he could overthrow the United Republic? That he could win?" Chokin demanded. "How?"

"Because people like-" Tarlock started.

"That's not my question. What series of events will allow Amon to take power? Did you ever consider that?" Chokin inquired, tone darkening when Tarlock stayed quiet. "Of course, you can't. He doesn't have a chance."

"Haven't you seen all the damage he can cause? The bending arena, all those who had their bending taken -"

"Does Amon have an airforce?" demanded Chokin.

Silence.

"A Navy?"

Silence.

"Special Forces?"

Silence, once again.

"A chain of command? Energybending? Armoured Battalions? The Avatar? An army?" Chokin cried, voice reverberating through the hall. His echo was the only sound to be heard.

"Oh. Oh," said Chokin, voice filled with pure frustration. "Oh, I see. You haven't thought this through at all, have you?"

"That isn't the point. There are people dying."

"Oh! So, it's about safety, is it? This war is about feeling safe? Then where's your war against butterfly-bees? They kill more people than Amon has. They do far more damage. What about toddlers? Accidents caused by them – especially bending children – cause far more deaths. Where's your crusade against them?" Chokin challenged Tarlock whilst addressing the crowd, trying to get through to them.

"You're being ridiculous."

Chokin let out a strangled laugh, startling everyone with its bitterness. "Am I? Did you ever think to count the numbers? To do the math? To see where resources could be distributed to best prevent tragedy? Because these things, they cause more death, more heartache. What makes Amon so much more important than a normal criminal, so that hundreds – thousands – of innocents have to suffer for his sins?"

"You're missing the point. People are terrified of Amon,"

"So? The state is not responsible for their feelings. It's not your responsibility to make them feel safe, especially if there's no true threat. And those who say otherwise need to grow either a gut or a brain!" shouted Chokin.

"Don't be stupid, and don't give me that. You know as well as anyone else that Amon needs to be stopped," retorted Tarlock.

"He doesn't need to be feared or hated."

"STOP ACTING SO RIGHTEOUS! YOU SAW WHAT HE DID AT THE BENDING ARENA. FOR EVERY ONE OF THEM KILLED, THE EQUALISTS WILL PAY A HUNDRED MORE!" roared Tarlock, his composure slipping.

"That's not Justice," Chokin said harshly. "Justice is the equilibrium of suffering. A worthless concept really, there's enough suffering in the world."

There was a dead silence, until Chokin decided to break it. "So, if it's not about Justice, what's it about? What are you fighting for in this war?"

Tarlock was taking time to consider his response this time, but Chokin wasn't giving him time to consider, quickly returning to the offensive. "It can't be about freedom either, given how many civil liberties you've thrown out of the window. It certainly can't be about what's right, because the amount of innocent people killed in your name exceeds those killed by the Equalists. It really can't be about self-defence either, what with your consistent policy of escalating the conflict with no provocation. So, please, tell us. With all these excuses gone, what justification do you have left?"

Tarlock looked at Chokin with narrowed eyes. "You know exactly why. And if you don't know, you're too stupid to ever realise."

"Of course, I know why. I just wanted to see if you could admit it to yourself. This isn't about defence, or fear. This isn't about freedom or Justice. This is about pride," Chokin declared, voice rising.

"No, it-"

"YES, IT IS! It's the only thing that makes sense. The only reason you could care so much. The only reason defeating the Equalists is so important to you is because you took it personally," said Chokin.

"You're wrong,"

"Am I? Think about, for once in your life. It's the only reason that justifies your actions. Why you're so obsessed with this stupid idea that killing an Equalist justifies the oppression of thousands of innocent non-benders. Why you delude yourself into believing that he's a threat. Nothing more than deflection. To cover up the fact that, at the heart of this fight, you're insulted that they exist to hate you," Chokin said, face solemn as he watched his opponent wrestle with himself.

"What do you know?" Tarlock spat. "You sympathise with those who hate us. Why?"

"Because hatred is no one's first resort. So, I took the time to understand, and when you know your enemy, there can be no hate, as hatred is formed in ignorance," explained Chokin. "It's what I did for you, Bloody. You know, I can remove the skills your father forced on you, without removing the full element itself."

Tarlock seemed lost in thought for a moment. "You don't understand. You can never understand."

"I don't understand? Don't be daft. Of course, I understand," Chokin said, which left Korra unnerved by the seriousness of his voice. More serious than she thought he was capable of.

"You think this is a threat? Don't make me laugh, boy. I've fought real threats with real stakes. I've fought, not just for mere pride, but for the salvation of millions, and sometimes for the sake of the entirety of humanity. I've fought bigger wars than you could ever imagine, endured worse pain, seen greater atrocities… and I've fought those threats without breaking, without resorting to meeting my foe at their level, as you have done," said Chokin. He didn't shout, yet he appeared angrier than anyone Korra had ever met. "I've endured suffering worse than you could imagine, both to myself and to people I've loved."

For the briefest moments, Chokin's eyes flickered towards Korra, before quickly returning to Tarlock. "But even then, I did not resort to this. Segregation. Rejection. Attacks on the innocent. Only when the world burned, millions died and the concepts we fight for turned against us, did I ever resort anything like this cruelty. You would do it because of a bad man in a mask. Just think about that, please. You don't need to resort to this. You can try to compromise – if not with them, then with yourself – but at least try to understand what goes on in their lives. You will bring back those who have lost faith in Republic City in this way, for you are stronger than you seem now. You are better than having to resort to oppression at the slightest implication of a threat from your own people. So, why not try and have a little faith in them? The world is not divided between good people and equalists, you know."

Tarlock was silent for a long time, mulling it over as the hall waited for his response with bated breath. Finally, he broke the quiet. "Alright, we'll try it your way, for now. The defence rests."

The tension in the court could be cut with a katana; all eyes were locked on Chokin after his dramatic speech. Korra had never even thought about it, but it made sense. She could see now how red and pained Chokin's eyes seemed, soul scarred from untold years of war. When the hammer finally came down, Chokin was the first out of the door, Korra close behind him, but even with him only leaving a split second before Korra did, he had vanished by the time she made it outside.

"Chokin?"

 **A/N: I love this chapter because Chokin asks a very good question. Is the war on terror ultimately fought over little more than wounded pride? I'm not going to say what I think, but when you have politicians advocating for torture even if it doesn't work it's very possible.**

 **The speech also shows a unique take on immortality, that being certain patterns in history repeat themselves and will eventually become predictable to an immortal. Chokin could, before any of the Equalist activity began, predict the conflict and what would happen. If Korra had time to finish reading those notes she would she how Chokin intended to solve the issue.**

 **Tell me thoughts through review, and I'd love it if you shared your theories on what will happen. My idea of a chapter between seasons of the show disconnected from the plot but still centring around Chokin's character still stands. Feel free to make suggestions, if I receive none I may do one in the past between Chokin and Raava.**


	28. Chapter 28- Pain

**Pain**

 **Korra**

It was dark, and shadows loomed deep and eerily. The day had faded into dusk whilst Korra spent the entire day searching for Chokin. It seemed strange to her that he'd run off like that, but maybe what he'd said had gotten to him. She hadn't seen him open up about that before. In fact, she didn't know if he ever had. It certainly changed her view of Chokin. She hadn't really thought about it before, but if he had been with the Avatar, it made sense. She cursed herself for not realising. How had she ever been so fixated on comparing herself to him? Especially when he'd been dealing with this.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a clue about where he would go, which only further displayed how little she actually knew about him. She had no idea where he'd go at a time like this, or how he'd act. He could be anywhere; she'd already called air temple island and he wasn't there, nor at Asami's house. He was probably somewhere she had no knowledge of, but she didn't know anyone who could contact him right now.

"Think, Korra, think," she murmured, trying to think of any way to find him as she sat upon Naga's back in a deserted alley.

"Korra?" asked a voice in the silence, startling her. She looked around, confused, but seeing herself alone, she shrugged and went back to thinking about things.

"Can you hear me?"

"What?" She had clearly not imagined that voice, almost angelic in nature. "Who are you? Where are you?"

"I'm a part of you, Korra. I am the Spirit of Light. My name is Raava. And, well… I think I can help you find Chokin," the voice explained.

"Chokin mentioned you," Korra replied, leaving out the awkward part of what he had told her.

"Yes, he's a very old friend. I think I was his only friend for his entire early life, in the same way he was mine, I suppose. I know him better than anyone." She went quiet for a heartbeat before asking almost hesitantly, "Am I going too fast?"

"What? No," Korra said, caught off guard by the sudden question. "Go on."

"Sorry… I have been known to ramble," she apologised before continuing. "Chokin is an old friend, and I think I know what this is about. Try asking him about Mogui; it's about time he came to terms about what happened I think," she said, a tinge of apprehension in her tone, but also a sense of finality.

Korra frowned into space. "Who was Mogui?"

"That's… That's… That's Chokin's secret to reveal," she stammered, not nervous, but rather very carefully measured, making Korra think she was trying to be protective of her friend's secrets.

"Well, I can't exactly talk to him if I don't know where he is," she pointed out.

"He generally likes to go to a place of beauty to relax," Raava explained thoughtfully, but just then a panic-stricken worker grabbed her by the sleeve.

"You-you're the Avatar, right?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Please, you have to help us! There's a spirit in our factory. We can't get him to leave; he's just sitting there staring at us!"

Bingo. A smile grew on her face. "Can you show me where he is?"

Baffled, the worker simply pointed towards a dirty, unsightly chemical factory. A swift kick to the reins and they were off, charging towards the building.

Entering the factory, she could see that there was nothing aesthetically pleasing about it. The walls were layered with grime and rust; spillages of chemicals had dried into the floor. The huge circular basins where different chemicals mixed were grey and a horrible sickly green. The stench was so horrific it made her nostrils dry and her breathing raspy.

"A beautiful place, huh?" she choked through the stench as her throat threatened to close up.

"Beauty's on the inside, Korra," came her reply. "This factory produces chemicals that fertilize dozens of fields, feeding tens of thousands of people. That's something not many accept, including the workers, it seems. There's so little appreciation for objective value in the world," the familiar voice lectured. Surely enough, when she looked up to the walkways reaching across the higher level of the factory, she saw Chokin looking down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't help the stench," she remarked, grinning up at him, before firebending up to the walkway.

"That is true," Chokin replied, staring off into the darkness as an awkward silence swept through the air. After a long moment, he asked, without looking at her, "Why did you come here?"

"Well, I mean, after the trial you seemed… I don't know. But I just wanted to talk to you," she stammered.

"What about? That I have some sort of PTSD? That I've endured a lot of pain? I'm aware of that," he told her, not angrily, rather just stating facts.

"Yeah, but maybe I can help," she stated. "Perhaps you could… I don't know – tell me about the event that caused this?"

"Which one? The genocide of the Sunwarriors? The Energy War? The fall of the Empire of the Four? Which one?" he demanded, resignation in his voice.

"Errr," she murmured, at a loss for words, but then she remembered what Raava had said. "What about Mogui?"

Immediately, Chokin froze, his breath stilling, purple blotching his skin like a rash. Turning sharply, his scarred eyes pierced her like a katana. "How could you possibly know… Raava!" he spat venomously.

"How dare you? How DARE you mention that thing here!" he screamed, pure anger echoing off the walls.

"WHO ARE YOU TO DEMAND THAT I TALK ABOUT THAT?" he yelled, but Korra wasn't going to stand for it.

"Well, excuse me for trying to COMFORT you. I just thought you needed-"

"Need? NEED? I don't need you," he growled. "I'm here of my own goodwill, and I don't have to stay – but you need me to stay, because without me the Avatar's useless."

"What on Ear-"

"Just look at your record. Aang would spend his life playing games while innocent people died across the world. Roku handled a diplomatic crisis by threatening a key leader, and Kyoshi was idiotic enough to create the Dai Li. But I don't need you, because I know what I'm doing," he continued, eyes staring daggers down at her.

"I built the empire. I ended countless wars; you were nothing more than the muscle. And I don't need you, or your absurd attempts at comfort. Goodbye," he said with finality, jumping off the rail and storming out of the building. Running after him, Korra found he had disappeared.

"How does he do that?" she demanded to no one in particular.

"He's bending the light around himself," Raava answered, startling the Avatar slightly. "Very childish. But he's invisible, I do hate it when he does that."

Outrage and frustration overtook Korra. Chokin's disappearance and his unjust attack against her; he had confirmed all of Korra's fears regarding him, but as they came out of his mouth, Korra realised how absurd each one was, and it only drove her mad.

"What on Earth's wrong with him?" she growled, storming towards Naga, who whimpered in the face of her anger.

"It was my fault, I was a fool to bring it up," Raava apologised.

"Don't blame yourself, he's the one who went mental," she grumbled at Raava. Silence from her, but only one of resignation. Korra sighed in frustration as she mounted Naga and galloped towards Air Temple Island. Chokin could find his own way home.

At the Air Temple there was some sort of party going on. Of course, Korra realised after a moment. Team Avatar must be celebrating the end of Tarlock's awful laws. Being too angry to be ready to relax and lacking the ability to sneak past half of the family to her room, she decided to just go into the training yard for a while. Eventually, she picked one of the smaller trees and began to use the poor sapling as a punching bag.

For a good few minutes, she simply punched her frustrations away on the tree bark.

"Erm, Korra – isn't it a bit late to be training?" Asami asked, taking her by surprise. She was obviously hinting at something.

"Huh, where did you come from?" Korra asked, deflecting her implication.

"From the Spirit World," Asami deadpanned.

"Okay – kind of a stupid question, but why are you outside?" she asked. She'd thought that Asami would be at the party.

"To be honest, I find parties too crowded. I only put up with them because it's what Dad expected," Asami explained.

"I know what's that's like, living up the past Avatars and the like," Korra responded, the memory giving her another surge of anger. "And no matter how I may try and live up to that legacy, there's always something wrong"

"Wait, I'm confused. Korra, we just a trial that saved millions of people from tyranny, and now you seem to be upset about expectations… Did something happen with Chokin?" she asked cautiously.

"How did you know?" Korra looked at her weirdly.

"He's not here, Korra, and you said you were looking for him," Asami pointed out.

"Good eye – but yes, he just attacked me for no reason," Korra grumbled, kicking at the dust, but quickly realised that she could be misunderstood. "I mean, not physically of course, but he went off on this tirade about how useless all the Avatars were, and only he was good, and, I mean – just… ugh!" She punched the tree again.

"Sounds like he was completely out of his mind," Asami soothed, "but you're sure you said absolutely nothing that would have angered him?"

"All I was trying to do was comfort him!" Korra protested weakly.

"Then maybe you hit a soft spot?" she suggested, which Korra knew was true. "Or maybe he just doesn't like being comforted. Some people are like that, you know."

"Must have been as soft as tissue paper," she remarked a bit defensively, but there was truth to her suggestion; as much as it pained her to admit it, that was probably what happened. "I'm not going to apologise. It's not my fault." Even as the words came out of her mouth she realised how petty they were.

"Well, I imagine he'll come around," Asami replied, tactfully ignoring her childish outburst. "Don't take what he said personally."

"Yeah… I suppose so," Korra grumbled, walking over to the stairs of the temple and collapsing onto them with Asami doing the same next to her. "I suppose we should go back to the party and have Chokin work his own way back."

"Actually, I came out for a bit of peace and quiet, but then I found you," she said with a smirk, earning her a punch in the arm from Korra. For a moment they sat in silence, with little but the soft jazz of the radio to dispel the silence. But then the music cut off abruptly, noise fizzing out into silence as it was replaced with the voice of a familiar terrorist.

"Do you see now, people of Republic City? How the corrupt bending establishment runs in fear? They would repeal any law and pay any price to save their skin, but this does not excuse their wrongs, nor their actions. It only shows their weakness; how afraid they truly are. And with good reason; they cannot stop us; they cannot prevent the revolution. We will destroy any army, any force, that stands in our way. Even the Avatar will be helpless to stop us. After all, she cannot even protect her guardian."


	29. Chapter 29-Shadows

**Shadows**

 **Several Months Earlier- Kosu**

It was him, she was sure of it. In her studies she had seen his pictures in paintings of every past Avatar before the Diyu. She recognised that spirit, likely the smartest person, man or spirit in history. Yet here he was, alongside the Avatar once more, having skilfully wormed his way from a prison sentence, fought in a gang war, and now arrived at Air Temple Island. The Paladin was back, the founder of the White Lotus himself.

He acted the fool all day, but once everyone but the White Lotus had fallen asleep his walk and posture changed. Straighter. Stronger. Smarter.

"Are they all asleep?" he asked, a cold, scarred look in his eyes. She nodded. "Rally the White Lotus and bring them to the dining hall."

She obeyed swiftly, and soon every member of the White Lotus had gathered in the hall. Some were pacing tensely, others largely apathic, lost in thought, and some muttered angrily amongst themselves, ever impatient. Kosu herself was leaned against the wall, her thoughts on the Diyu and what it meant.

Then, silence. All eyes turned to the Paladin walking into the room. His footsteps rang out through the hall, echoing through the silence, dripping with power. He halted only at the very end of the dining hall, where all eyes could observe his next actions.

"My return is due to… personal reasons," he started slowly, but his powerful voice was devoid of anything resembling hesitation. "This does not represent any change in my policy regarding the Diyu, Mogui or any other historical event. I alone will choose what to reveal, and if I decide I must, I will do so myself," he told them, his eyes skimming over the enraptured crowd, not bothering to linger on any one person too long. There was no flicker of surprise or outrage at the announcement; many had expected the inevitable outcome.

"In the next few days I need to know the present state of the world. This includes history, politics, national beliefs and philosophies. You will all provide a report by tomorrow. In the meantime, I will read up on that person who earned himself a statue," he told them, although the last statement seemed to simply be a continuation of his thoughts and not addressed to his audience, as once he finished his statement – for that was what it was; he would never make a request or even demand, it just simply must be as he had said – he left the room, completely ignoring the crowd.

The speech, if you could even call it that, was short, but it gave them their next task. Some people would demand more clearer direction or more clarity into what the Paladin was thinking, but this was the White Lotus. They were above such trivial needs.

 **Several Days Later**

Chokin was back after randomly disappearing to go to the Sato Mansion, but he returned changed. There was purpose in his steps, he paced faster, and there was a mad determination in his voice. Seeing Kosu, and noticing she was alone, he walked up to her.

"How are non-benders treated by Republic City?" he said. It was an question, but not a request, and she was compelled to answer.

"The same as everyone else… I suppose, I mean – I," she stammered, the question was terrible, vague and impossible to answer.

Chokin was still walking briskly, two fingers pressed to his lips as he walked into the building.

"Ignorant… lack of concern…minor or overlooked?" he muttered as approached his room. As Chokin didn't sleep, the room had become a study of sorts, with stacks of reports and heavy books from his attempts to catch up scattered hazardously across the floor, seemingly like a whole temple of airbenders had raced through and sent everything flying. Chokin squatted over the pile and started to pull up several stacks of paper, skimming over each page before discarding it.

After several moments of silence, Chokin rose from his position and quickly threw several stacks of paper off the bed he didn't use. The bed clear, he pressed his fingers to his lips.

"It's possible that there will be a non-bender radical uprising… lack of representation… economic downturn…seemingly lack of empathy… yes – very likely," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

After a few minutes of nonsensical murmuring, Chokin picked up a sheet of paper and started to make drawings on a paper.

"Soon there will be a charismatic figure that rally the radical people to their cause. Obviously, this will inevitably result in some sort of symbol intended to rally more support, maybe an attack of some sort of symbolic monument." He was all but monologuing at this point, giving no sign that he cared about or even recognised Kosu's presence.

"Understandably, this will lead to the antithesis, that being a similar figure fighting for the status quo. Jeopardising morality for false results, looking to crush rather than compromise… that person will achieve little more than an escalation of the conflict; they will desire victory and nothing more. The conflict will devolve as destruction becomes the goal of both sides and the ideals become secondary," he further deduced, sketching onto the paper what appeared to be words relating to his thought process, "and thus begins a war of impossible victory. The terrorists unable to overthrow a nation that few want overthrown, and the man of the people, unable to destroy hate with hate will only cause greater suffering. Inevitable I suppose, but it could be limited with interference. The easiest way would be to remove the figure of the radicals; it will cause their cult to fall… but another leader would only take his place. This must be dealt with properly. I must aid these people who have no choice but death."

"Sir? What do you want me to do?" asked Kosu finally, feeling awkward.

He looked at her without the surprise or annoyance she thought her interruption would bring. "Ask the White Lotus to narrow down their search, particularly on issues that affect non-bending life people, though do not allow them to skimp on the others. Also, have them provide their own solutions to these issues," he ordered. She nodded and started towards the radio to send out the orders.

 **A week later**

It was almost cute to see the Paladin look so awkward with Korra looking at him, but any fondness for the situation dissolved at the news of Amon's newfound powers. Once again, the White Lotus members forced themselves to stay awake longer than any other member on the Island. Once everyone else was asleep, Chokin led them towards another secluded location, this being the beach by the docks. This time, the majority of the members of the White Lotus were told to remain awake for the meeting, to be informed of any news in the morning. It was for the best; if someone were to go for a midnight stroll, it would lessen the risk of being eavesdropped upon. Kosu was one of the lucky five who were going to hear the Paladin's true thoughts directly from him.

When they arrived the five looked at him expectantly, but the Paladin seemed genuinely confused, as he sat on a particularly large rock with his fingers pressed together.

"He can't be an energybender, it's impossible… there's something else at work," he muttered under his breath.

"How do you know that? How can you be sure?" one of the other White Lotus members asked.

"Ms. Sato informed me that his eyes didn't glow when he took their bending, but that is a minor detail to the true contradiction. The true issue is Amon's own philosophy," he told them, still talking in undertones.

"An energybender's abilities are dependent on the bender's own philosophy. It manifests itself in ways that enable one to advance their own cause. For instance, if one energybender believed that if it was ethically correct to give power to those that they trust, as opposed to any other reason, then that energybender would be able to give non-benders bending. However, if a different energybender believed that other factors were more important, they would lack such an ability," Chokin explained.

"But Amon believes in making Benders and Non-Benders equal. Wouldn't that constitute?" pressed Kosu, causing the Paladin to shake his head.

"No, the ability to take people's bending away is an extension of the belief that you must spare whomever you can and avoid killing at all costs. Amon does not think this way, Amon has a goal to remove benders. His goal is genocide; well, not quite, as it isn't killing people, but he's still destroying a race. If he was an energybender, that would manifest itself by having his energybending only affect those he considers necessary to be destroyed, while also growing significantly more lethal," Chokin countered.

An element that changes depending on the user. All Kosu had ever known about energybending was that it was an extension of the self and not of the body. She supposed this was how. Remarkable.

"But the only known way to remove bending is through energybending," stated another member in confusion, to which Chokin smiled.

"Yes, that's what I thought but I was wrong. Never be so narrow-minded; yesterday's impossibilities are tomorrow's norms," he informed them brimming with childlike enthusiasm "and I can't find out how he does it, so a whole new area of untapped potential knowledge to be mined from Amon's discovery"

The members looked at each other. Some clearly thought he was mad, but Kosu felt he was just being enthusiastic.

"Still, if you can return the victims' bending then there's no issue, right? In fact, Amon will look like a fool," she pointed out, but Chokin and other members shook their heads.

"If Amon realises his technique is useless, he'll go violent. This way the only damage he'll do is reversible," her colleague explained, and she accepted the wisdom that he provided was valid.

"More importantly, Amon is a symptom of a larger problem. I will not be blindsided by his hatemongering and ignore the suffering that spurred him on," Chokin stated resolutely. "I still have to work on the Korra reforms, keep me updated… and if possible look into Amon. I also want to know which idiot bender is going to overreact to this moron. For now, though, we wait." He looked up at them each in turn. "Relay this to the others."

And with that the meeting was over, and the future unsure.

 **Three Weeks Later**

Somehow, Chokin's plan had fallen to shreds. Tarlock had established his 'Task Force' and driven a wedge between non-benders and benders. Korra had foolishly challenged Amon to single combat, forcing Chokin to use his energybending to save her, thus leading to his energybending being revealed to Amon, who had – just as Chokin predicted – made a devasting attack on the bending arena, which lead to Tarlock having an excuse to further infringe on non-bender rights. Everything was devolving into chaos.

Kosu was now coordinating with the police department; the White Lotus had been feeding bits of intel to the police under anonymous tips and infiltrating detectives. One such example was Lin Beifong, who was drawing closer to pinning Cabbage Corp as Equalist suppliers. Kosu hoped that she could help her find the decisive evidence anonymously and was so focused that she didn't notice the Paladin sneak behind her.

"So, what is it you're working on?" he asked, making her jump, but she immediately recomposed herself.

"I was just looking into a lead suggesting that Cabbage Corp may be linked to the Equalists" she explained, secretly hoping to impress the ancient spirit.

"Impossible, they're being framed," he said, so simply, yet decisive.

"But-" she tried to interject, but he overruled her.

"Cabbage Corp industries has 60% of its production based on the bending line system. An Equalist victory would bankrupt the company; the evidence is planted," he elaborated, humiliating Kosu. "But that's not important. I need you to give me access to every record on past bloodbenders for the last ninety years."

"What, why?" she spluttered, completely taken aback from his sudden change in direction and unusual request.

"Because, Amon tried to bloodbend me at the arena. Find out where he learned it from, and we'll know his background," he said, uncharacteristically short.

"Wait, if he's a bender, then that means-"

"I'll play that card when the situation arises, but the fact remains that Amon is a symptom of suffering in the non-bender population. If I were to rip apart his revolution now, in the long term the true issues will be unsolved, and the war will recommence. All would be the same in broad strokes, the differences only in names and details. For now, however, I aim to figure out his past, and in so doing I'll figure out his thought process," continued Chokin. "It wasn't full moon last night, and while that was never a limitation in the past, if you can find someone who can do what he attempted it'll narrow our search." His orders caused her to sigh inwardly as she abandoned several weeks of work for a new, completely unrelated task.

 **Four Days Later**

Finding Chokin that day was difficult, not least seeing as he was being hounded by his responsibilities to the Team Avatar members who were being moved in. Eventually, Kosu was able to find Chokin alone in the astronomy tower, a file of her new lead revealed.

"Sir," she said with a salute. "When following your orders, I found someone who you should know about. He also could bloodbend without a full moon."

Chokin, intrigued, took the file and for the next solid thirty minutes read through it. "Yakoone escaped?"

"Yes, with the help of his gang, but we don't know what happened to him after that," she answered, causing Chokin to put the file on a desk and pace.

"There are three likely options; either he hid, returned to crime or died. If it was the latter he would have been identified, especially if killed by another crime lord. They'd want the reputation," he murmured thoughtfully as he paced.

"If he went into crime it's possible that he may have used an alias to avoid humiliation, but I doubt he wouldn't be recognised… I don't think it's possible he continued as it was. He likely went into hiding and started a new life… you investigated his family, correct?" he asked sharply, to which she nodded.

"Yes, he had an aunt. She died a few years after he escaped," she answered.

"If he went into hiding, the first place he would go would be family members for financial aid, and possibly emotional support, although I doubt he was the kind to seek the latter… we have agents in the area. See what they can dig up," he ordered. Nothing but orders with him, as usual… although despite being tough, he always held the aura of purpose. You always knew nothing you did for him would be left unutilized but would rather be a crucial step in some intricate plan.

"Yes, Sir."

 **Six Days Later**

She had followed the leads at Chokin's word, with the White Lotus members in the Northern Water Tribe tracking down Yakone's family, and she had found exactly what she wanted.

"Sir, you were right, we found a picture of Yakone here," she said, giving him a picture. "He may have gotten plastic surgery, but we can tell it's him. Doctors can confirm it, sir."

"Plastic surgery?" Chokin questioned, leading her to explain to him what plastic surgery was.

"You humans are always so innovative, it's truly an inspiration… even if it can make my job harder. I assume that you've investigated the man after he moved in with his aunt," he said with a wistful smile.

"Yes sir, he faked identification and moved to one of the more tribal communities where he would be more isolated. Likely to avoid authorities, he got married and had two sons soon after he arrived, Noatak, and one name you might recognise… Tarrlock," she said with a smile.

"So, Tarrlock in Amon's brother, and likely a bloodbender too… speaking of which, do we know how he was able to keep it a secret?" he inquired, to which she nodded.

"We found her diary, apparently they would go on the occasional hunting trip, and if you look at the dates, they at least initially correlate with the full moon. Too much of a coincidence, wouldn't you agree?" she asked Chokin, bringing about a small smirk.

"Excellent work. I can deduce what happened from here. Yakone left his old criminal life behind, likely due to his loss of bending… it can be such a traumatic experience. He went remote and fell in love, quickly had two children. Both were waterbenders, sparking a new means for Yakone to use to enact his revenge. Being two highly impressionable children, they were easily manipulated into it, eventually, however, Noatak snapped and likely turned against his father.

This would explain why Tarrlock makes no mention of his brother, and as the oldest he likely felt compelled to protect Tarrlock. This would be what triggered him turning against his father, though Tarrlock wouldn't abandon his family, so he was left behind. Noatak would be presumed dead and left alone he would see his waterbending prowess as the catalyst of his family's downfall. This would trigger him to make illogical connections between all the world's issues and bending, as it becomes an obvious strawman in his mind."

"Incredible; I never mentioned that Noatak vanished, but you figured it out yourself," she whispered, slightly in awe, making him to smile.

"When you're as old as I am, the human element of situations becomes the most predictable… I believe I can now stop both Tarrlock and Amon without destroying them," he told her with a triumphant smirk.

 **Amon**

Amon was a man who would bring equality to the world no matter what the Avatar, or the Spirit, or anyone thought. He had heard on the radio that Tarrlock was pulling back on the crushing laws, and that was good. It seemed they were afraid of him, and so were desperately begging for mercy. Even as many of them still bickered among themselves, he could use them to buy time to eliminate the spirit.

As he sat in his command centre, he considered how to move on it without the whole city coming down on him. As much as he told himself that the government was falling – hence the laws – a part of him was worried. Would the non-benders be pulled into this token effort? Alone, his thoughts could stir; with his Equalists elsewhere, he was free to doubt. So much war, and things were not going to plan. Not least of all due to the Spirit… he needed to eliminate it. Thankfully, he was prepared and ready. It didn't know he was a waterbender; that was one advantage.

There was a knock at the door, likely his Lieutenant delivering neutral news. There was little good news and few opportunities any more, nor threats or problems; nothing but neutral news. It was infuriating, it meant… meant that no one cared. And Amon feared that more than any bender.

He opened the door and there wasn't a friend, but the spirit, standing there as if it was knocking on a friend's house.

"Boo," it said, deadpan.

Instinct overran caution as he bent streams of water from his flask immediately, ready for it and completely unsurprised as the Spirit simply stepped to the right. A second stream of water was fired, only to evaporate into steam in a flash of silver light.

"You may want to stop before your entire mob hears you. They won't like a bloodbender like you in charge," it said, smiling. Completely unfazed. Amon's eyes narrowed to wary slits. It knew? How?

"Tell you what. Rather than bring your entire mob down upon us, we'll have a nice civilised chat in your command centre. Wouldn't that be best for everyone?" it asked from behind his mask. Amon scowled at the Spirit, but none the less stepped aside to allow it in. As the Spirit had his back turned, Amon, in a slight of hand, lit a candle, brightening the room marginally.

"Do you think I'm going to listen to a single word that comes out of your mouth?" he spat, causing the Spirit to shake its head sagely.

"I certainly don't expect you to listen to reason. I intend in reaching you in a different way," it told him with a smug look on its face. Amon simply laughed mirthlessly.

"You're hopelessly deluded. Do you truly think that what the non-benders endure is fair?" he demanded.

"Of course not," it said, taking Amon by surprise, "but do you think the non-bender suffering is intentional?"

The absurdity of what it said struck him hard. "How could it not be? How could these atrocities be anything less than intentional?"

The Spirit listened with infuriating patience, not rising to his taunts, but simply waiting for him to stop. Not like Tarrlock, or any of the other benders. He listened.

"I believe you are misunderstanding. These benders are simply living their own lives – yes, perhaps turning a blind eye to their suffering – but you seem unconcerned with animal rights, so that can hardly be fa-"

"This is different," Amon interrupted. "This isn't some petty philosophical debate. If they don't care, then what does it matter. They need to suffer."

"You mistake indifference for intolerance, and oversight for oppression. They meant no harm, they were simply living their lives. Until you came and made everything much harder for the non-benders," it said with infuriating calm.

"Tarrlock did that, all I did was fight for them!" he hissed.

"Oh, I concur; don't mistake me for supporting your brother. All he achieved in doing was fanning the flames of this war, but I managed to make him see through the lies he told himself. I showed him he was only doing what he was doing out of pride. You, Amon, are different; fear motivates you," the Spirit said, its eyes locked on his own. Amon could almost see the cogs turning behind its eyes, a machine of near perfect calculus.

"Are you calling me a coward?" he yelled, unable to take this anymore.

"I'm calling you human – it's a compliment, trust me. You saw the world's issues, but rather than try and handle the whole complicated mess, you surrendered yourself to merely attacking a group. A straw man, to avoid the complications. In the end, Amon, you will delay progress," it told him with eerie certainty. Silence, broken only by drips of water and the soft cackle of an aroma.

"Chokin, that energybending you use. It's the extension of the inner spirit, correct? Not the body like other elements," he asked, a smug smile flitting upon his lips.

Chokin's head shifted, nodding silently, visibly confused.

"So, what would happen if you were to be disconnected from that? Say, if you were to hallucinate? Or to be drugged?" he demanded with a sadistic grin. The candle's incense had permeated the air with a hallucinogen, one that only affected spirits.

"Why – you!" he shouted, charging at him, but being unable to bend, Amon simply grabbed Chokin by the arm and threw him back. Now beginning to hallucinate, he scrambled across the floor, desperate to flee, but it was in vain as a boot landed heavily upon his back.

"Naive fool." Amon growled, "you've humiliated me; you're only alive as bait for the girl."

The Spirit turned to him, eyes red, puffy and with tears of suffering. Barely conscious, he whispered "That stupid… stupid owl," before collapsing as Amon summoned his guards.


	30. Chapter 30- Captured

**Captured**

 **Korra**

Things moved silently after the message on the radio. Amon had Chokin? It had been less than a day, how had he captured him that fast?

"Tell them. Tell them what will happen if they don't hand over the Avatar," ordered Amon, as there was the sound of tape ripping.

Yuánsù quān xià. Píngděng zhànshì dì jīdì jiù zài zhè-uggh" groaned the weak voice of Chokin, speaking complete gibberish until something was heard slamming against him.

"Has he been drugged?" Asami whispered, her hands clasped over her mouth. He sounded so sickly.

"Speak, or I will break your bones!" snarled a voice, likely an equalist, before there was another thump and a nasty sound that made Korra's insides cringe.

"He's out Sir," said the voice.

"Doesn't appear he can last much longer. I suppose the clock's ticking, Avatar. I want your surrender to my Equalists at the old statue ruins; any trickery will result in this Spirit's death," he growled as the radio cut off.

"There's no way he'll keep his word. Chokin can return people's bending. He'd want him dead more than me," Korra whispered, fingers fidgeting in her lap.

"Did you hear the radio?" shouted Bolin, frantically running out of the temple, Mako alongside.

"We heard, but there's no way we're going find him in time. He could be anywhere," Asami told him rationally, gaining nods from everyone.

"That's not entirely correct, you know," Raava uttered out of the blue, making Korra jump.

"What are you talking about?" Korra asked, to the confusion of her friends.

"He was speaking the tongue of the ancient spirits on the radio; obviously he knew that I would be the only one who could hope to understand a word of what he was saying. Chokin can be quite clever sometimes," she explained to her. "He said, 'The Equal Warriors' home is under the element circle'.

"Errr… what?"

"It was a language before humans, Korra – certain terms simply had no words in this language, and specific things had yet to be discovered… bending, for example, hadn't been discovered when the language died." Raava continued.

That explained its cryptic nature. Amon would have cut the radio if he realised what Chokin was doing.

"Apparently, Chokin and the Equalists are under something called the element circle," Korra explained to her companions, causing a wave of disbelief to overtake their faces. "I'll tell you how I know later – first we need to figure out what he's talking about."

"Okay… Well, I've never heard of an elemental circle. Is it on a map?" Mako queried as he pulled out his pocket map of Republic City.

"You always have this on you?" asked Asami dubiously, to which he nodded.

"Just in case," he muttered as he traced over the contents of the map. "He can't be far; it's been only a few hours. He wouldn't be able to get out the city in that time."

A few seconds later: "There's nothing here!"

Korra frowned. "That's impossible… Wait, no – maybe an elemental circle refers to something else. It could be the closest translation," she muttered to herself, deep in thought. But what could he be referring to… Raava had said she had partially used the closest translations she could recall to tell Korra of the message he had sent in the other language. If 'equal warrior' referred to the equalists, then perhaps 'elemental circle' referred to something else.

"Raava, you said that bending doesn't have a word in the ancient language. Do you suppose when Chokin refers to 'elemental', he means bending?" she asked and was quickly greeted with the angelic voice.

"I think I know what you're getting at. Yes, that definitely could be so. And seeing as there was no word for arena either… We never knew how the Equalists snuck past the police, but if they had secret passages…" she prompted.

"He might be under the bending arena. Perhaps the elemental circle refers to that. It makes sense, doesn't it?" she asked her friends, oblivious to their confusion.

"Um – what are you talking about? You've been muttering to yourself for the last few minutes," Asami informed her. Oh, they can't hear Raava! Korra quickly explained to them everything Raava had told her.

"So, you can talk to Raava… what isn't that the Spirit that Chokin had a-"

"Is that really important right now, Bolin?" Korra demanded impatiently, cutting him off and stunning him into silence.

"That makes sense. It could explain how the Equalists snuck past security when the attack happened. If they also had trap doors in secret areas, then maybe they used this to their advantage," suggested Mako.

"And no one noticed?" demanded Asami in disbelief, but Mako was shaking his head.

"Republic City had a Dai Li underground base from when it was an Earth Kingdom city. It was used by the Triple Threats for a while before the police found it. The criminals may have had hidden passage ways to the arena as an escape route. It's unlikely, but it's the best we've got," Mako stated, with a hint of helplessness.

"It really is the best idea we've got. I don't think Amon will take my bending a second time… he'll just kill me if I give myself up," Korra pointed out realistically, "but we're wasting time as it is."

 **Amon**

The worst part of hostage exchanges was the waiting; the paranoid fear of every step taken – every droplet of water making you jump. Amon still didn't know if the Avatar would take the bait, though she was likely too noble to refuse. But still, it would be foolish to let his guard down. This was the Avatar he was dealing with.

It didn't help his nerves to be alone with one of his two greatest enemies, but he had no choice. He wouldn't take the chance that Chokin could end up revealing his secret. Even under such torture, and the aromas in the room, he'd yet to fall unconscious. His eyes were flickering, and he seemed be struggling to remain awake. The spirit fox's hint had certainly proven more than effective; this Spirit was broken.

"You're a fool, you know that?" it whispered weakly, to which Amon simply cocked a brow.

"Insulting a man with your life in his hands?" he questioned sardonically, making the Spirit groan.

"I mean continuing with this revolution, this war. I fought for you to have a humble victory, but you had to go for broke, making this so much harder," it whimpered.

"A token effort is not sufficient, not for what the benders have done to my kind," Amon retorted.

It grinned weakly.

"These token efforts add up. Progress doesn't happen in a day, only disaster can occur in such a short space of time… true change takes a generation." It opened its mouth to speak again, but it seemed it was too weak to continue.

"That's too long," Amon growled dismissively, and was about to continue debating with his philosophical sparring partner when there was a call on his radio.

"Sir, they've agreed to hand over the Avatar now," his new second in command told him over the radio.

"Uggh… idiot," groaned Chokin at the news, his body slumping even more. Amon was rather elated with the news, but duly cautious. This would mean that Amon would have to leave the room to ensure things were handled properly. Not favourable, but he had no better choice. Taking a handkerchief out of his pocket, he stuffed it into the Spirit's mouth and walked to the radio room, ordering several guards to fill his place.

 **Korra**

Charging through the Air Temple with her friends behind her, she ran up to the office where Tenzin was on the phone.

"Yes, indeed – thank you," he said into the phone, hanging up. Then, he noticed the four new additions to the room.

"You heard? Well, I can't seem to figure out what happened to Chokin after the trial, barring a few rumours of a factory hours ago. But, then – just maybe…?" he whispered the last bit under his breath, eyes narrowing in thought.

"No, I was there, and I saw Chokin disappear. If there were equalists, then wouldn't they have captured me too?" Korra pointed out, to which Tenzin sighed.

"We're out of options, then," he muttered dejectedly, head in his hands.

"No, actually, we think we know where Chokin is. He – err – told Korra through spirit language on the radio. Just stall Amon and provide a distraction; we'll head in," Mako instructed.

"Why would I allow you kids to assault Amon? He's dangerous," Tenzin argued.

"It's really not a matter of allow, Tenzin. I'm the Avatar. You can't stop me from going; I need to be there. Just try and stall Amon as a distraction," she asked, her decisiveness causing Tenzin to look at her in shock. "Please."

"You sound like Chokin," observed Asami. Korra didn't know what to think about that.

"Very well," Tenzin acquiesced. "We'll pretend that we're negotiating. That should distract him."

"Yeah, quick question. How are we getting in there? We can hardly knock on the front door," Bolin pointed out with reluctance.

"I've got a plan," Korra answered mysteriously, causing Mako to shift uncomfortably.

"Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?" muttered Mako.


	31. Chapter 31- Showdown

**Showdown**

Korra's plan was not so much of a plan as it was simple common sense. With Tenzin stalling Amon, she and her friends would use waterbending to walk towards the underground base, then use earthbending to bust in, grab Chokin and run, ideally without meeting Amon.

As the four of them walked through the water under the bay, Korra was struggling ever so slightly; partially because of how long the water had to be held up, but also because she was nervous, although she tried to hide it. The last few times they had faced Amon they had lost. Badly. It made her walk a little faster than normal, often overtaking Mako who was guiding them towards the base.

"Here, this should lead to the old Dai Li," Mako told them, pointing to an area in the cliffside for Bolin to bend the rock, creating an opening.

"What the-!" exclaimed an Equalist who had unfortunately been guarding at the time, before Asami lunged at him, grasping his shoulder with her electric glove and throwing him against the wall. As the four entered the base, Bolin sealed their entrance, only for Korra to draw some water and turned it on the terrorist, making him freeze as he was attempting to stand. Legs trembling, the man stared at her, his eyes wide with fear.

"Where's Chokin?" she demanded, grabbing him by the shirt.

"Please don't hurt me, I've got a family," he whimpered, shaking horribly, tears in his eyes. Deep down, Korra hesitated, deep down feeling ashamed at her actions, but she quickly shook herself but she needed to find Chokin. Who knew what Amon would do to him.

"Then talk!" she ordered fiercely, a pang of guilt squeezing her gut, but she was running out of time.

"The spirit is in the torture room. Second floor, third do-" he began spluttering, but was silenced as Korra's eyes began to glow.

"YOU TORTURED HIM?" they screamed as the Equalist began to whimper uncontrollably. A soft hand found it's way towards her wrist, calming her enough for her eyes to stop glowing and the debris that had begun to levitate to fall back to the ground.

"Korra, it's alright – we'll save him," Asami promised, receiving a grateful and much calmer glance of acknowledgement from the Avatar. A quick flick of her wrist, and Korra bent a stream of water from a puddle, freezing the Equalist's mouth.

"Sorry about that," she muttered, before adding determinedly "Now let's find Chokin." They hurried towards the place the Equalist had indicated, sneaking through the base as quietly as they could. She found it creepily abandoned; likely a result of their distraction from Tenzin. Still, it was unnerving as they creeped through the base. Approaching the room, they found a revolting stench permeating the air.

"Did somebody forget to take out the garbage?" Bolin asked, timid, in a poor attempt at humour.

"I recognise that smell. Tenzin uses it when he and the kids meditate – it wards off bad spirits – but Chokin said… oh no!" she gasped, cutting herself off and breaking into a run, completely forgetting the need for stealth. Several Equalists were alerted to her presence, and consequently the rest of the team, but they were no match for Korra's flurry of earth, water and fire that soon knocked them unconscious.

Charging to the door, the two Equalists that were standing guard were soon dispatched by the Avatar as they stormed in.

"Urgggh… Kor-uk," Chokin groaned weakly, his voice a mere mumble. His skin, normally blue and black, had sunk into a vile yellowish-blue colour; his limbs seemed to be frail and limp; his eyes a puffy red; and worst of all, a pool of greenish vomit tinged with purple.

"Chokin!" the team exclaimed with varying amounts of horrified shock, rushing to the spirit and untying him immediately.

"The candles – the fog is coming from the candles!" Korra spluttered urgently, leaving Chokin in Asami's care and combing the room for the source. The other three put out several candles, but it wasn't enough to clear the room. Following the smell, she realised that the aroma was coming from the vents.

"Where's something to block the vents?" she demanded, but even the ground here was made of metal, and there seemed to be nothing else around.

"He seems to be going into some kind of stroke!" yelled Asami, panicked, as she tried to help the spirit.

"What should we do?" begged Bolin, hysteria spreading through the team.

"HE'S LOSING CONCIOUSNESS!" Asami shouted again, causing things to snap within Korra as pure instinct overrode doubt and she threw her hands out in front of her.

Whooosh. A blast of wind erupted from her as the smell cleared, leaving behind clean, fresh air.

"I – I did it. I airbent," she gasped, momentarily stunned, but swiftly returning to the issue at hand.

"How is he?" she asked Asami, looking at him slumped in her arms. Two fingers went to his neck as tears formed in her eyes.

"He's- he's dead,"

Korra was already feeling herself beginning to spiral, despair darkening her vision, when Chokin's eyes shot open.

"Dead? DEAD?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN DEAD?" he yelled, angry, thin limbs struggling to push himself on his feet.

"Chokin!" Korra cried as the others gasped, only beginning to half-heartedly defend herself when Chokin shot her a bloodshot glare. "But your pulse…"

"I don't have a pulse, or a heart for that matter," he explained, always the teacher, even as he was being helped onto his feet by a bewildered Bolin.

"Or a brain, seeing as you got captured," pointed out Asami sharply, the worry clear in her tone.

"Exactly… wait, no – don't – urgh," he groaned, collapsing against the nearest wall as the team hovered. "Hey, you learned how to airbend!"

Pride gave way to relief, then disbelief and anger. "Chokin, how in the world did you get here?"

"Why, did I worry you?" he teased, before receiving a swift kick to the shin. "I deserved that"

"What on Earth are you doing here?" Korra repeated, to which Chokin closed his eyes in what appeared to be shame.

"I was careless – stupid. After what happened, I was angry. I didn't pay enough attention to what Amon was doing. I allowed myself to get captured," he muttered begrudgingly.

Korra frowned. "But, why were you here in the first place?"

"Because, well – I wanted to end the revolution today, to prove myself; to prove I'm right. Before the equalists can muck up this compromise I've been working on," he clarified reluctantly.

Mako sighed. "Well, let's get you out of here before Amon can see that-"

"No!" shouted Chokin, making everyone jump. "With the new legislation going through, it's only a matter of time before Amon decides to make another major terrorist attack, which will spark another overreaction by Tarlock, or someone similar, and the whole issue starts all over again!"

"You can't be serious. You were honestly going to take on the whole Equalist army?" scoffed Mako, as Chokin collapsed into a chair, weak from exhaustion, his injuries catching up to him finally.

"I didn't intend to. All I wanted to do was destroy the records of the Equalists, then remove Amon. After that there'd be no one who knows who's actually an Equalist, allowing them to settle back into civilian life," he explained.

"What, you were going to let them go?" demanded Mako vehemently.

"I've studied the Equalists for a while Mako, and like all Humans, once you understand them… they just want a life. I've provided them that life with the Korra reforms. They're not evil; you give them an out and they'll take it, I am certain," he continued.

"And what about the bending arena, and the people who died there? Who's going to pay for that?" Mako asked again, not at all mollified by Chokin's calm logic.

"That was just war. You have to move past that," he said plainly, but it was clear that he wouldn't tolerate further discussion on the topic at that moment.

"But Chokin, what if we meet Amon? Remember, he beat all of us before," Korra pointed out.

"Don't be silly, you're an airbender now Korra. You'll beat a mere bloodbender like him, no problem," he assured her weakly, apparently completely unaware of the magnitude of what he had just said.

Korra managed to choke out a weak, "What did you say?" voicing the team's thoughts out loud and causing him to look at her in surprise.

"Did I forget to mention? Hah. I thought it was obvious… oh, you humans. One day you'll stop using the word impossible," he sighed. "Yeah, I've been researching Amon for months, and he's been using bloodbending to take away people's bending," he explained, again ignorant to the effects of his words.

"But, Chokin, don't you see what this means?" she said.

"That while the revolution itself is based on one man's lie, it is still based on real suffering. Besides, we have no concreate proof, and even if we did, Amon's word is worth more than any proof… no – I need Amon captured," he told them firmly.

"Don't you have any idea how dangerous this'll be?" demanded Asami, to which Chokin smiled.

"Someone has to do this. If you don't, goodness knows how many more will suffer for it." Sighing heavily, he continued. "This isn't a choice, it's a duty. And I would do it if I wasn't like this…"

It was for the first time that Korra heard bitterness in Chokin's voice, and sadness at his own uselessness. It was often hard to remember at times, especially given that Chokin so rarely showed it, but he really did want to help. He just always seemed to use unsatisfying methods.

"So, what exactly do we need to do?" asked Korra, making the decision for the team.

"On the third floor, there are records of all the equalists. Burn them, and no one will be able to use the Equalist contacts to rebuild this organisation, or at the very least it will take time. Time that allows people to calm down, and consider the Korra reforms," he started.

"Seriously, that's it?" asked Mako sceptically.

"Of course not. You'll need to take down Amon too; alive. Then I'll deal with him." Chokin griaced as the team watched him explain, doubt plain to see on almost every face. "Look, I know I'm expecting a lot.

"No, don't bother asking again. I'm in," Korra declared, making Chokin grin weakly as the statement was received with general murmurs of agreement from the team.

"Thank you. I'll only slow you lot down, so I'll leave you to it," he said, limping out the room with an aura of regret. It seemed as if he wanted to help.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Mako dubiously, to which she shook her head.

"No, not really, but we're here now… and I still think we won't have a better time than now to deal with Amon."

The others were unsure, but it was time to knock that out of the equation. "That's enough doubting ourselves; let's get to the task at hand. Chokin said that we need to burn the records, so let's just follow his lead."

 **Elsewhere**

Floors above, the Spirit limped like a soldier, hand clutched to where his abdomen would lay if he were human, hurrying to escape. It vexed Amon that he had managed to be conned by the fake exchange, yet was reassured that it only took five minutes of stalling for him to figure things out. As Amon rushed to the cell to check on the prisoner, he was lucky enough to find the Spirit in a hallway. Unaware of his presence, Amon walked behind him for a moment, placing his feet as lightly as he could, before swiftly rushing forwards with a glove in his hand, but in the split second, Chokin managed to dodge him, although the movement sent him collapsing into a crate as his weakened body finally gave out.

"Stubbornly persistent, aren't you Amon?" Chokin wheezed, pulling himself out of the crates, wobbling desperately as he struggled to stay on his feet.

"My resolve is unbreakable, you should know that by now," Amon retorted, but Chokin chuckled quietly. His elbow pressing into a switch on the wall caused alarms to trigger all around the base.

"Your faith in your beliefs are limited, Amon, as you would never allow anyone else to lead your crusade," he pointed out.

"Your point being?" Amon demanded, a tinge of venom in his voice.

"That you have only two reasons to do this. One is your mistaken belief that you're helping non-benders; the other your ego… I'm not surprised, you take after your father," Chokin said, matter-of-fact.

Rage, fury, anger; all reason bubbled away as his body moved like fire, completely undeterred as his mask slipped off in his sudden movements, nor was he concerned about whom may see him as he pulled his fingers together with the intention to rip the blood out of the Spirit's body.

But nothing happened.

"What?" he gasped, almost childishly in a fleeting moment of weakness, but the Spirit looked at him grim yet slightly smug as he explained:

"The only blood I have is that on my hands."

"Then I will have to settle for breaking your bones," Amon growled, charging pulling his weak exposed arm and slamming his stomach into him, kicking the wind out of Chokin's lungs.

"You think you're the first one to try killing me?" asked Chokin, looking him directly in the eye with not the slightest hint of fear.

Giving a quick sigh when he only received a hard glare in response, Chokin launched a jab into Amon's shoulder, and in an instant Amon experienced the sensation of his arm disappearing as the Spirit rolled out his grip, his hands ripping the knife out of his belt as Amon staggered backwards, arms held above his head, ready to be attacked.

But nothing, came. In fact, the knife was thrown away, although he only realised when he heard the knife drop onto the concreate ground.

"That was a mistake," Amon growled, ready to strike him again.

"Hardly. It was useless; it could have only been used to kill," the Spirit shrugged nonchalantly.

"Then you'll be fighting me forever," he pointed out.

"No, only until you listen," Chokin spat back, before Amon launched himself across the space, attempting to wrestle him to the ground.

 **Asami**

The four were sneaking into what they assumed was Amon's offices as they followed Chokin's orders blindly. She knew that Korra was uneasy as well, especially with Chokin's almost light-hearted attitude to the whole thing that seemed to border on naivety. There was something alien about him, specifically ordering the four of them to effectively allow every Equalist to go free. What was he thinking?

Suddenly, alarms started to sound in the base, and what seemed to be hundreds of Equalists started to swarm in on them. Unable to deal with such a force, the four of them ran into the office and barricaded the door. Pillars of earth were raised across the door, trapping them inside.

"Whos bright idea was this?" demanded Mako, as he leaned against the door with all the strength in his body, attempting to keep the Equalists out.

"Keep them out for a bit longer. I'm guessing all the files have to be here somewhere," shouted Bolin as he started to look through the room. But as he did so, something occurred to Asami.

"Wait, if these alarms went off, then what about Chokin?" she asked, prompting the same thoughts to slowly dawn on each of them.

"That's not good," Bolin cursed, giving up on his search and helping Mako barricade the door. The banging was increasing, and it seemed that the Equalists were trying to break down the door.

"Well, in any case, we don't have time to take this with us, so we'll just have to trust Chokin here," shouted Korra as she blasted twin columns of fire across the room, seeping her arms from side to time until all the papers were fried to a crisp or disintegrated, "but we need to go now before we get overwhelmed."

"And how do you propose to accomplish that exactly?" asked Mako dryly, even as he strained beside his brother to give them a few more seconds.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to enter the Avatar State, would you?" Bolin asked hopefully.

"HGGGH," groaned Korra, scrunching up her nose, crossing her eyes and even holding her breath as she concentrated, but her eyes didn't glow, not even slightly. "No dice," she declared resignedly after a second.

"We'll split up then; me, Asami and Bolin will draw them away, and you'll have to get to Amon," Mako said.

"Alright, I think I can create a distraction to give you guys a head start, then I'll get Chokin," she told them, punching two fists together.

 **Amon**

"Fight back! You coward, fight back!" he yelled as time and time again the crippled Spirit weaved through his attacks, refusing to return them.

"Why? I don't want to fight you. You are not my enemy, you're merely a symptom," he replied, but the moment he started talking Amon pressed his advantage and charged into the Spirit's stomach, throwing him onto the floor.

"Well, what's the alternative? To suffer?" demanded Amon. "To endure in silence whilst the benders ignore it, safe behind their abilities? Would you have acted, were I not to stoke the flames?"

Green and blue bile splattered on the floor; the Spirit, still weakened, was clamouring for help; footsteps were approaching, although they were likely his Equalists… but it didn't matter.

"There are benders suffering too, Amon, your kind is not special," Chokin spat, bile escaping his lips. Amon reached around his neck and pinned him to the wall.

"Maybe not, but we shouldn't just take it. You wouldn't understand – you don't even care," he growled.

What happened next was not what Amon expected. The Spirit's arms dropped, and all resistance ceased. He seemed to have struck a nerve. "Maybe I don't. Maybe I never cared enough. I never know…"

"Do you care? Do you care Amon?" Chokin asked softly, after a long pause.

Amon couldn't answer that. He wanted to say yes, but something was stopping him.

"Do you count?" the Spirit continued. "All the deaths?"

"What are you talking about?" Amon scoffed, yet his fingers wouldn't move. He'd never seen anyone so vulnerable; no one other than his brother.

"Every three seconds someone dies. I don't know who, where or how, but that's what the evidence says. And because of that, I feel the weight of each of them and I'm always counting those seconds… so, do you care about that?" Chokin pressed, looking him directly in the eye.

"You can't truly-" Amon mumbled, breaking off and restarting, flustered. "You don't even know those people."

"Should I have to? I can't assume there aren't good people there, ones that matter to someone, somewhere. That should be all I need to know," Chokin continued, his voice quiet and somewhat frail, but determined. "What about you?"

A long silence stole over the two beings, until Amon finally broke it, voice cracking slightly as he started, although he coughed hastily to try and cover it up.

"Then, why? If you truly care… why aren't you on my side?"

"I'm just not naïve, Noatak. You're making promises you can't keep. I know from experience. I've been both a rebel and a ruler, Amon, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that power doesn't corrupt; never has, never will. Power only exposes the complications the underdogs can ignore… and that will mean that you have two paths, of which you can only choose one. To live in ignorance, or to stupidly proceed with your promises, regardless of cost. You'll be a monster, and if you're sensible, you'll just be like those you've overthrown," he explained. "I've lived this – I know, and I understand – but you can't force these things."

"But, what choice do I have? I can't stop now!" Amon retorted, nearly shouting in his desperation. "You think anyone would let me go?"

"I would," Chokin told him coldly, looking him directly in the eye. As Amon looked back, he was scared, because there was no hint of deception in those scarred eyes.

"Liar!" Amon yelled desperately, throwing him back into the wall, "People like that don't exist."

"Just because you've never met someone like that, doesn't mean they don't exist… and if that Wai Shi Tong told you about that poison, then he surely told you about me. Do you really think I would care if you walked free?" asked Chokin.

"You do! You have to!" exclaimed Amon, his fist catching the Spirit's midsection, green bile splattering out of his throat when he coughed, yet the Equalist ignored it.

"Do you really expect me to surrender to you? While you bleed on the floor," he growled, "at my mercy?"

"Amon, if there's one thing you should learn about me, it's that I may be willing to play the loser, but I rarely am one, and it's been a while since I've had a breath of fresh air," Chokin stated calmly. Drawing upon his energybending, a heartbeat later Amon was thrown across the room, his mask disintegrating as he hit the wall amidst a blast of silver light. The impact was so great cracks formed in the walls and droplets from the ocean outside leaked through. Amon, of course, was not deterred as he bent the streams of water at Chokin. They formed daggers as they slashed through the air towards him.

It made no difference, however, as Chokin easily made the water evaporate before he pinned Amon to a wall. However, even in his 'energy form', Chokin still seemed injured; limping, but was no less powerful as he approached, until they mere inches from each other. Amon squeezed one of his arms free and tried to bring his fist down upon Chokin, but another flash of light pinned him down.

"Now, will you listen to me?" demanded Chokin, his voice echoing.

"Just kill me, then. I know you want to," Amon hissed, crude spittle landing upon Chokin's face.

"I don't want to kill you!" pleaded Chokin, releasing the Equalist from his grip and leaving Amon to fall to the ground. Wobbling slightly, he bent down to be level with the other, hands clasped as if in prayer. "I want to help you; is that really so hard to believe?"

"If you wanted to help, why not join me?" Amon asked weakly, and even he was shocked at how broken his own voice sounded.

"Joining you would condemn hundreds. I've seen it before. If it would've helped, I may have joined you," Chokin said, "but no one needs to suffer to gain a compromise here. And honestly, is a compromise really so awful?"

Silence, then, slowly, Amon met Chokin's eyes. "What did you have in mind?"

"We will ditch your outfit and give it to a corpse. Frame him, and say Amon commited suicide, whilst Noatak goes on to a new life. You know about the White Lotus, right? They're coming now. I told them to come for me at this time in advance. Just say these words; 'Yǐncáng pòsuì de nánrén'. They'll understand," he informed the man, before collapsing onto the ground with the last of his grace, hands massaging his sides.

Amon, however, got up and limped away. The Spirit looked at him in confusion. "It would be unnatural for us to be found together."

The Spirit nodded and relaxed into the wall.

"You are quite the human, Amon."


	32. Chapter 32- The ease of peace

**The ease of peace**

The team were barricaded in the office as who knew how many Equalists started to break through the walls. Hands were stabbing through to create gaping holes, clawing at the team. Their options were limited. Somehow they'd either have to escape or fight their way through.

CRAAACK

But then, there was silence.

The hands had stopped. The knocks of the door had ended, and in it's place a chill spread through the air. The dread was palpable and Korra was left to question what had happened.

"EEEEEEKKK"  
Screams, shouts, and unsteady footsteps could be heard through the walls. Some were sobbing Some were running. But none were attacking. It was simply confusing.

"Why would you do this?"

"RUN!"

"It can't be true!"

Then, suddenly everything stopped. The four members of the gang looked at each other cautiously. Slowly Korra slid the door open with her left hand, a fireball cooking in her right, her senses twitching for any sign of attack.

Then she saw him, Amon a rope to his neck, hanging in the hall. Dead. As for the Equalists, well, they had run away.

"What? What happened?" asked Asami after a moment, not necessarily upset but just shocked.

"I-I think he just hung himself" said Mako, trying to keep his composure while Bolin didn't seem able to face him. His head in his hands.

"Why do you think he did it?" asked Bolin but Mako just shock his head.

"No idea" he whispered.

Korra, however had a different outlook. Unlike her friends she had fought Amon up close and this Amon seemed slightly frailer then she remembered but perhaps she was just mistaken.

It was then that she heard police sirens soaring and it wasn't long before police officers started to rush into the building. Almost too coincidental, and some of them did look familiar.

"Avatar Korra we received a tip… is that him?" a female officer asked her looking at Amon.

"I… I think so" she murmured.

"If your seen here some will think you killed him, plus we found your spirit friend. He's not good but he assures us he'll be fine" the police officer said all but pushing them away "but you may want to see him"

"Is it just me or are these guys trying to get us away" asked Bolin though they were already retreating.

"Probably… but I don't really like being near corpses" pointed out Asami who admittedly looked slightly pale. The team walked as if they were on autopilot until they saw Chokin being taken away on stretcher, they tried to rush up to him only for some healers to block their path.

"Sorry only family beyond this point" they said "you can see him tomorrow"

They tried to complain but it was no use, Chokin was gone.

 **One week later**

It was strange, very strange. For all the panic, all the fear and all the issues that Amon brought that tore Republic City apart, his death passed as if it was just another page in the paper. For a man who inspired such terror his death seemed to have brought no relief, no jubilation and no fear. Just nothing.

In a way Chokin was right, Amon was just… irrelevant. People forgot about him and if he could be forgotten so easily, why were people so afraid of him in the first place? The reasons felt childish now, and Chokin's arguments made more and more sense without Amon lurking over them. Had all of this been as much of a waste of time as Chokin thought?

Korra didn't like dwelling on such thoughts, hence why she was currently beating a punching bag in the courtyard. On occasion she would flex her new airbending abilities at the bag, relishing the gusts of wind that flew from her fingers.

"Korra" came a voice from behind her causing her to spin and accidently blow Tenzin's beard into his face.

"Sorry Tenzin, I'm still getting used to this" she responded quickly.

"It's alright Korra, it can't be helped at this stage. I just came to tell you that the hospital is allowing visitors and Chokin wanted to see you in private" he explained patiently.

"Oh good… so is he better?" she asked, for about a week no one had been allowed to visit him due to what Amon had done to him.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that the White Lotus is willing to let you talk to him" continued Tenzin "there's a boat here to take you to him"

A boat. Right. Sent by the White Lotus. Chokin had mentioned he was a member, but she had never seen such security. Even as she crossed the city there was a bodyguard. Repeatedly, she shook them off when they grasped her by the arm.

"I can walk just fine by myself" she growled as she ran ahead of the bodyguard to Chokin's room.

She was about to enter the hospital room, but Chokin seemed to speaking with someone. As Korra had successfully ditched the bodyguard, she decided to listen in to the conversation.

"Enough, there's a different matter to discuss" said Chokin his voice sounded annoyed to the point of irate.

"Sir the Mogui" interjected Master Kontrolla who must also be in the room.

There it was again 'Mogui'.

"Isn't important right now, before Korra gets here I want you to make sure Amon gets out of the city" ordered Chokin.

Wait what did he say? Amon? Korra listened more closely, ears straining.

"Right after this I'm headed to see him off, once gone he'll disappear for good. Are you sure about this?" he asked cautiously.

"Well everyone seemed to buy that Amon committed suicide- nice job there by the way- so no one's rioting. Eventually some hundred years down the line, I'll reveal it worldwide" explained Chokin "but make sure he's out the city before everyone overreacts"

"You sure this is necessary? This is a lot of work for a terrorist" he growled but was silenced. Korra guessed that Chokin said something. Did Chokin help Amon get away? Who's side was he on?

"If we don't forgive our enemies, then why should our enemies forgive us" Chokin said to him.

"If you insist sir" he replied, then Korra heard footsteps. Pushing herself behind where the door would open, blocking her from Kontrolla's view.

Chokin was going too far, this was beyond mere pacifism, racing towards to the point of stupidity. He'd spared Amon and then had the gall to lie about it. He had the White Lotus trick her and everyone else. Worse he lied to her about it… why would he do that.

Because he didn't trust her. Just like the White Lotus didn't trust her. Just like Tenzin didn't trust her. Trust her to do her job as the Avatar. Did anyone have faith in her?

Her mind flew back to just a few days earlier, buried in the recent hassle to save his life and deal with the Equalists. About how he really felt about the Avatar. The words echoed in her mind 'I don't need you'

There was still a chance she could follow Kontrolla and by extension Amon, find him and bring him to justice. She couldn't even trust Chokin anymore.

"Korra" whispered an ethereal voice and very irritatingly-timed voice.

"Oh it's you again" she said with more bite than she intended.

"You sound disappointed" Raava pointed out somewhat solemnly.

"I'm still not used to this, and I just want to be left alone" she mumbled awkwardly, too aware she was practically right outside the room where Chokin was still resting.

"I'm afraid for better or for worse we are stuck together Korra, but please don't do anything rash" she begged.

"Oh no, I won't do anything, like breaking a terrorist out of jail and helping him go into hiding. Because that would be stupid" she growled caustically.

"It may seem that way now, but please remember that Chokin has experience in these matters. He's trying to think long term here" she continued, clearly choosing her words carefully.

"Why? Why are you okay with this? Why can't anyone see how terrible an idea this is?" she demanded to her but she was met with only patient silence.

"Chokin has done this before Korra. He's stood aside as people like Amon were arrested and punished, but that didn't end wars. If you want to end anything you need to let this go. People are at peace now, Amon leaving won't change that" she tried to explain "it's not personal Korra please don't take it as such"

"But people just won't trust me, and Chokin isn't trusting me either" she defended "he's still keeping secrets like this"

"He's trusted you more than he should, all things considered. We didn't leave on the best of terms" she reminded Korra a tad defensively.

Korra didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't as if she was responsible for what her past lives did.

"So what? Should I just try and pretend this didn't happen?" she demanded.

"I-I don't know, but could you at least try talking to Chokin first" she practically begged "he's always reasonable"

Korra was silent for a long moment. She could hear him out "fine"

"Thank you" Raava said, though even gratitude almost felt like mockery at this moment. Still when Korra got up,, she didn't follow Master Kontrolla but instead turned towards Chokin in the patient ward.

He was looking better, his skin had returned to his natural shade of blue and his weight had returned to normal. He was back on his own two feet, with his eyes no longer bloodshot and red.

As Korra scanned for any further damage she noticed that his eyes were gaunt like many people's were from lack of sleep. But now that she came to think about it, had he always been like that.

"Korra, I called you here cause I need to tell you something" he started before she could speak, twiddling his thumbs in anticipation.

"Yeah you're right" she bit back, causing Chokin to flinch.

"Errr you're probably going to be more angry at my thing so I might as well get that out of the way" he hesitated, before saying sheepishly, "I decided to let Amon go. He's alive and I let him go free"

"Oh…um" she stumbled. She hadn't expected Chokin to tell her outright. She'd thought he'd have tried to deny it "I kinda overheard you talking to Kontrolla"

"Of course you did" he sighed, exasperated. "Look, I know the idea seems crazy, but I need this to happen. :et me run through my reasoning first"

Well, this threw her completely off guard. She'd been so angry at Chokin for not letting her in on the secret that now that he had told her, and more importantly told her before she could confront him about it. The feelings of betrayal evaporated along with her anger at Chokin. Seeing her relax Chokin seemed emboldened.

"I know this seems crazy but my reasoning is long term. By releasing Amon now I can make it so that in the future I develop a reputation of being forgiving to my enemies. This will make it easier in the future to reach compromises with future threats with future individual…troublemakers" he explained "while also setting a further precedent that cooperation is possible"

"Well that doesn't work if everyone thinks he's dead" pointed out Korra but Chokin just shook his head.

"Oh I'll tell everyone after he passes away. That one of the advantages of being an immortal" he explained "oh and it wouldn't even matter if he tries to return to his Equalists. I took away his bloodbending, plus the fact that to the Equalists the fact that he would ever abandon them would be a betrayal, I don't think it's a concern"

"Well what about in the future" she pointed out "you've just allowed Amon to get what he wants by hurting people"

"That's irrelevant, people will always be willing to use violence to solve their problems. We can only hope to ensure there are no more problems to solve in the future… or at least less of them". Pausing, he seemed to try and soften his tone before he continued. "Does that make sense?"

It was here that Korra just realised that she may have been overestimating herself, Chokin clearly had put a lot more thought into this than her.

"Look Chokin, I think you know what you're doing better than I do, I'll just trust you on this" she admitted to which Chokin looked at her surprised.

"You sure? Wait this isn't because what I said a few days ago, is it?" he asked, continuing solemnly "because you know that I didn't mean that"

"No it doesn't have anything to do with that" she replied, a tad too quickly.

"Good"

A long pause.

"But I'm still sorry about that" he said, his words difficult "I said things that weren't fair to you, or your past lives. I was wrong about that, and to say that"

"Oh well… to be honest I'm used to apologizing not to receiving them" she admitted sheepishly "I'm not sure what to do with that"

"Me either, I normally don't expect apologies… I'm also often giving them to people" he said awkwardly "so um"

"Um"

Another pause.

"No hard feelings" he said awkwardly.

"None"

"Erm good" said Chokin "I'm also sorry to your past lives. I don't mean any of the stuff I said. They were wrong with how they acted. But they were just people in difficult situations, and it's my fault I wasn't there to help"

"But why weren't you there to help Chokin?" Korra asked, frustration rising to the surface once more. "You're hiding something, Raava's hiding something, even my own past lives are hiding something. What's happening?" she almost pleaded, only for Chokin to look away.

"I can't- you can't. No. Just no" he cried, voice almost broken "I'm sorry, but please"

Chokin was begging, normally Korra was used to being kept secrets from her simply because people didn't think she could be trusted. She never really knew how to deal with a secret like this.

"Okay we don't have to talk about this right now" she conceded "so um… are ready to leave"

"Yep, that poison doesn't last long as other stuff, but, well, the hospital food has meat in it" he said with a clearly forced smile and a fake laugh "is everything good at the air temple?"

"Yeah, pretty much so. Everyone's waiting for Pema's kid, they say she going to give birth any day now" she said, attempting to move past the previous subject as swiftly as possible.

"Oh that's good. Very good. Goody good goody" he spluttered awkwardly tapping his fingers together awkwardly that seemed very human "Goody good good goody,-"

"Chokin are you hiding something" she teased elbowing him in the stomach.

"No I can remember this! so it's when… when… I forgot" he lamented clutching his head in his hands "Nope-I forgot again"

"Forgot what?" she said, desperately hoping it wasn't what she thought.

"Where do human babies come from?" he asked, his voice meek with embarrassment.

For a second Korra just stood there agape before pulling herself together and asking "how can you not know that?"

"I do, or did, I just forgot" he mumbled awkwardly.

"How can you forget?"

"It's just so boring"

"Boring?"

"It's just when Humans are created. But all Humans keep getting all awkward and embarrassed and I never get the chance" he mumbled "you know what forget it. I forgot now please remind me"

Korra for her part just stared at him in utter shock but eventually decided to just go with the most cliché version of the story she could think off "you see when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…" she trailed off.

"Yes" he asked, eyes tiring in the way that hers would before a long Tenzin lecture. Which was a problem, she didn't know what came after that part in the cliché version and was hoping Chokin would interrupt her. That left her with the more vulgar and much less child friendly version, which to Chokin's credit he didn't once squirm at.

"That was it. I'll eventually forget so you better remind me" he said with a smile. It was strange that whenever people fought, forgiveness always seems impossible but after that forgiveness was given the only question left was why didn't people forgive each other sooner.


End file.
